HRPA Darjeeling objects to human rights commission chairman’s statement

The Human Rights Protection Association has raised objections to a statement made on Wednesday by the West Bengal Human Rights Commission chairman at a public hearing in Siliguri.

In a letter to the chairman, HRPA Darjeeling district general secretary Lochan Gurung said, “Holding such a prestigious position as that of the Human Rights Commission chairman, he cannot make statements that hurt the sentiments of the hill people.”

He further alleged the chairman was not at all interested to hear out cases from Darjeeling for reasons he knows best. According to Gurung, Darjeeling HRPA members met HRC chairman Ashok Kumar Ganguly and highlighted the issues of human rights violation in the hills, but he brushed them aside saying the Commission has no jurisdiction to handle such matters and they should be placed before the high court to get proper justice.

The letter by HRPA Darjeeling addressed to the Human Rights Commission chairman was received by Rabindranath Samanta, retired high court judge and a member of the State Human Rights Commission.