Facing criticism from all sides on the deteriorating law-and-order situation in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday decided to recommend a CBI inquiry into the gang rape and murder of two minor girls at Katra Sahadat Ganj village in Badaun district. A formal letter making the request would be sent to the Centre soon, an official spokesman said.
When officials told Mr. Yadav at a review meeting that the families of the two cousins wanted a CBI investigation, he decided to recommend it, the spokesman added.
The girls’ family members do not want an investigation by the State police. The five accused include two policemen, Chhtarapal and Sarvesh Yadav, who have been dismissed from service.
Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati demanded a CBI investigation on Friday. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who met the girls’ family members on Saturday, too demanded a CBI inquiry.
The Bharatiya Janata Party criticised Mr. Gandhi for visiting the village. Party State unit president Laxmikant Bajpai said that after patronising the Samajwadi Party for the past two years despite its misdeeds, criticising it now was beyond comprehension. Not a single penny from the Rs. 1,000-crore Nirbhaya Fund had been spent. There could be no bigger example of the lack of sensitivity of the Congress and Mr. Gandhi.
Ms. Mayawati will visit Katra Saadatganj on Sunday, her first to meet the kin of an affected family in years. A BSP spokesman said Ms. Mayawati would visit Badaun on June 1 to meet the family members of the two cousins and be with them in their time of sorrow and ensure that justice is delivered to them.
Ms. Mayawati’s proposed visit follows a report submitted to her by the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Swami Prasad Maurya, who visited the village on Friday. BSP general secretary Naseemuddin Siddiqui visited the village on Saturday.
A delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party also visited Katra Saadatganj village. BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak said a delegation comprising the party’s Aonla MP, Dharmendra Kashyap, B.L. Verma and others visited the village and met the bereaved family members. Though the village is in Badaun district, it comes under the Aonla Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Dharmendra Kashyap of the BJP.
