UP govt orders CB-CID probe into arson

Facing flak over police inaction following the arson at Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi’s house, the State government, in an apparent face-saving exercise, on Sunday ordered a CB-CID investigation into the incident rejecting the demand for a CBI probe by the Congress.

State Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh told a press conference here that the investigation of the case had been transferred to the CB-CID to ensure an “impartial inquiry.”

The government, however, rejected the demand for a CBI probe into the incident.
State Congress spokesman Akhilesh Pratap Singh said his party stuck to its demand for a CBI probe. “How can one expect the state government to conduct the probe in an impartial manner when a ruling party MLA was involved in the incident,” he said.