Congress holds Mayawati guilty for attack on Joshi's Lucknow house

New Delhi, July 25 (ANI): The Congress Party on Saturday said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is responsible for the attack on the Lucknow residence of Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi on the night of July 15.

Senior Congress leader and in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Digvijay Singh said: "The attack was made under the directions of Mayawati and CBI probe should be ordered into the matter."

On Wednesday, Joshi filed a petition before the Allahabad High Court seeking a CBI probe into the July 15 arson attack.

In her petition, Joshi squarely blamed Mayawati and her henchmen for the arson attack.

The demand for a CBI probe came two days after the Uttar Pradesh Government rewarded Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Intezaar Amad Abdi, the man who allegedly led the attack on Joshi's house, as the Chairman of the UP Sugar Corporation.

According to BSP sources, the party leadership cleared Abdi's appointment a week before and said it has no connection to Joshi's arson case.

An FIR has been filed against Abdi and a BSP MLA from Bikapur, Jitendra Singh Babloo, in the Hussainganj police station in Lucknow.

Uttar Pradesh police have already found the car that was used to attack Joshi's Lucknow residence.

Police sources said that the Toyota Qualis belongs to the BSP leader from Varanasi, Abidi.

Meanwhile, a Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) probe has been ordered into the vandalism case concerning Joshi's property.

Joshi was arrested after being charged with denigrating Dalits and Mayawati in a speech July 15.

On the same night, her house in Lucknow was set on fire, allegedly by a group of BSP workers. oshi was released from jail Saturday after being granted interim bail. (ANI)