HC reserves order on CBI probe into Bhatta-Parsaul

The Allahabad High Court today reserved its judgement on a bunch of petitions seeking a CBI probe into the Bhatta Parsaul police firing case of Greater Noida in which four persons, including two policemen, were killed during a farmers' agitation against land acquisition.

A Division Bench comprising Justice Imityaz Murtaza and Justice V K Dixit reserved its verdict, for pronouncement of judgement in the second week of March, on petitions filed by Atul Sharma and other residents of the village.

The verdict on the matter, which has led to intense politicking in the last one year, is now likely to come after the completion of the state assembly elections.

The state goes to polls next month and after a seven-phase voting, counting of votes is scheduled to take place on March six.

The petitioners had demanded a CBI inquiry into the police firing incident of May 7, 2011 when a clash between the agitating farmers and the administration had also left many others, including the then District Magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar, badly injured.

Violence had erupted in the village when a number of policemen and administrative officials reached there and demanded the release of state transport corporation personnel allegedly being held hostage by the agitating farmers.

The episode had kicked off a major political storm in the wake of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi visiting the village and alleging that some of the villagers had complained to him that some of the protestors were burnt alive and women were raped by the policemen.

An FIR was lodged against policemen and Provincial Armed Constabulary personnel following a Noida court order to this effect passed in November last year.