CBI arrests Malik’s aide in Abhimanyu house arson case

PAWAN HOODA’S NAME HAD APPEARED IN THE CBI CHARGESHEET, WHICH ALSO INDICTED 50 OTHERS IN THE CASE

ROHTAK: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the case of loot and arson at Haryana finance minister Abhimanyu’s house during February 2016 Jat stir, on Tuesday arrested Jat activist Pawan Hooda, a close aide of All India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) president Yashpal Malik, from Rohtak.

Hooda’s name had appeared in the CBI chargesheet, which also indicted 50 others for vandalism at Abhimanyu’s house.

Angered over the arrest, Malik has called a meeting of the state committee of the AIJASS on Wednesday to take a decision of their further course of action.

“This is government’s way to ignite stir once again and force Jats to come out on roads. When the CBI had filed the chargesheet, what was the need of making the arrest now? He would have appeared in the court himself,” said Malik.

“As elections come closer, the government is expected to take such steps to divide communi- ties on caste lines once again and ignite stirs,” he maintained.

Pawan was among 40 people booked by the state police in Abhimanyu’s house arson case. He was out on bail. As the state government handed the probe to the CBI, the premier agency added the names of 11 more people in its chargesheet.

The 11 new names include another aide of Malik, Ashok Balhara, who is the general secretary of AIJASS.

On Monday, around 20 youths booked in Abhimanyu’s case had gone live on Facebook, lauding the CBI for booking Balhara and reaching closer to Malik in its investigation.

The youths had blamed Malik and Balhara of hatching the entire conspiracy and claimed the duo had brought crores of rupees of properties under the garb of running the Jat agitation.