UP govt cancels notification appointing judicial panel

LAKHIMPUR KHERI : A day after the Supreme Court appointed justice (retd) Rakesh Kumar Jain, the former judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court, to monitor the ongoing Uttar Pradesh SIT’s investigation into the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, the state government on Thursday cancelled the notification by which a single-member judicial commission of inquiry headed by justice (retd) Pradeep Kumar Srivastava of the Allahabad high court was appointed to probe the case last month.

The Uttar Pradesh government in its order dated November 18, said, “The notification dated October 6, 2021, to appoint retired Allahabad high court judge justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava to head the single-member inquiry commission to probe the eight deaths in Lakhimpur Kheri is hereby cancelled.”

The apex court also ordered to reconstitute the SIT by inducting three senior IPS police officials into it. Meanwhile, justice (retd) Pradeep Kumar Srivastava was stated to have left his camp office in Lakhimpur Kheri on Thursday.

“Justice Pradeep Kumar Srivastava left Lakhimpur Kheri on Thursday evening,” said Kheri district magistrate Mahendra Bahadur Singh. Justice Srivastava had arrived at his camp office at local PWD rest house in Kheri on Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday, the singlemember inquiry commission visited Tikunia (where the violence had occurred) and inspected the spot. The inquiry commission also received inputs from the police and administrative officials about the violence which claimed eight lives.