CPI(M) leader Kalatan Dasgupta gets warm welcome after release in alleged conspiracy case

CPI(M) leader Kalatan Dasgupta was greeted with a warm reception by his supporters after being released from custody on Thursday. Dasgupta was granted bail by the Calcutta High Court in a case involving an alleged conspiracy to attack junior doctors protesting the rape and murder of their colleague at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.

The incident took place in Salt Lake outside Swasthya Bhawan, and the allegations surfaced after TMC leader Kunal Ghosh released an audio clip suggesting that a plan had been made to defame the Mamata Banerjee government.

Dasgupta was arrested along with another individual, Sanjiv Das after the Bidhannagar City Police filed a suo motu case following the audio leak. The police alleged that the phone conversation between Dasgupta and Das was part of a conspiracy, leading to their arrests.

A bench of Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj granted Dasgupta bail, stating that he could not be interrogated or arrested without the permission of the high court. The court also directed the state to submit an affidavit detailing the reasons behind his arrest, while Dasgupta was also allowed to file an affidavit to defend himself. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for November 18.

In court, Dasgupta’s lawyer, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharjee, argued that no attack had taken place on the junior doctors, and his client had never issued instructions for such an attack. The public prosecutor countered by stating that Dasgupta and Das had been in frequent contact, having spoken over the phone 171 times in the past 10 months. However, Bhattacharjee dismissed this argument, saying that mere phone calls do not prove a conspiracy.

The court also questioned why Dasgupta was charged under non-bailable sections, while Das was booked under bailable sections, despite both being allegedly involved in the same conversation.