PLEA IN HC SEEKS CBI PROBE, SAYS LAW AND ORDER IN ‘GREAT DANGER’

PRAYAGRAJ: A letter petition has been moved before the Allahabad high court, seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation or a judicial inquiry into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in UP, in which eight people died, including four farmers.

The letter plea moved on Monday by non-profit Swadesh and Prayagraj Legal Aid Clinic requested that in case of a CBI probe, the entire investigation be monitored by the high court. The petition said the role and negligence by police, from Lakhimpur Kheri to Lucknow, be made part of the probe.

“Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees citizens right to life and personal liberty. State machinery has failed to secure lives of eight persons who died in a dreadful manner,” the petition stated. It further contended that the “law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh” was in “great danger” and there could be “consequences if preventive action is not taken by the state at [the] earliest”.

Eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district on Sunday. The farmers were allegedly run over by vehicles driven by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers travelling to welcome deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to the area. The remaining deceased – two BJP workers, a journalist and a driver – were allegedly pulled out of the vehicles and lynched by angry protesters.

The plea also sought suspension of Director General of Police and other concerned officers.

Separately, two advocates wrote a letter to the Supreme Court seeking the institution of a high-level judicial inquiry under the supervision of the top court, involving CBI within a stipulated time. The letter has urged Chief Justice of India N V Ramana to treat it as PIL so that guilty could be “brought to justice”.