The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special team probing into the Nandigram massacre of March 14 has started examining the phone call records of senior police officers who were on the spot that day. The agency is looking forward to “some exclusive clues”. The agency also lodged an FIR in Khejuri police station today against 10 people, alleged to be CPI(M) goons, who were caught with arms and ammunition on March 18. Though the CBI team was scheduled to submit their preliminary report to the Calcutta High Court today, it will take some more time. Also, on March 19, a report was sent to the Union Home Ministry. But “that was not a complete report,” said a source in the agency. On the CBI’s call record examination list are some IPS officers and their subordinates including IGP Arun Gupta, DIG (Midnapore Range) Ramesh Babu, ASP (Howrah Rural) Satyajit Banerjee, ASP (Tamluk) Debasis Boral, ASP (Haldia) Tanmoy Roy Chowdhury, the sources said. Though Ramesh Babu has already got a clean chit from the state government as he was not part of the officers leading the police action, a section of policemen, however, feel that the CBI’s new initiative will put him under the scanner.On condition of anonymity, a police officer said: “During the incident, the DIG, who was leading a group of policemen as a back-up team outside Bhangabera, did not join his colleagues. He took shelter at the CI office at Heria. But the call records will make it clear whether he had given instructions to open fire.” To chalk out its strategy on further investigations, the CBI today held a closed-door meeting at its Nizam Palace office till late evening. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID), meanwhile, visited several spots in and around Nandigram to collect evidence.
