Congress demands CBI probe into Meher murder case

New Delhi, Mar 27: The Congress party today demanded a CBI probe into the murder of Meher Bhargava, while accusing the Uttar Pradesh police of

The occurrence of the incident a few yards away from the local police station and the delay in apprehending the culprits even after a month "are a telling commentary on the breakdown in the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh," AICC Spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan told mediapersons here.

Ms Bhargava was shot and injured by one Sachin Pahadi in the busy Hazratganj area in Lucknow on February 28, when she protested against lewd remarks being passed by Pahadi and his friends over her accompanying daughter-in-law.

The former lawyer, who was partially paralysed following the bullet injury, breathed her last at a hospital in the national capital on Saturday.

Expressing the party's condolences to the family of Ms Bhargava, Ms Natarajan said, "We would like to strongly condemn the complete breakdown of law and order in Uttar Pradesh at this time where a scene has been enacted in independent India." ''The incident had left a blot on our democratic polity,'' she said. "It is shocking that more than a month after the incident took place, no serious action was initiated by the state government even though there is widespread knowledge that alleged attackers were at large in the city and allegedly had close links with the Samajwadi Party (SP)," she said.

Ms Natarajan said the state government had been shielding the culprits due to their "political affiliation with ruling party." On Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav's statement yesterday that the prime accused in the Meher Bhargava case would be arrested soon, she said it demonstrated his "callous attitude''.

Ms Natarajan demanded Immediate protection to the lives and honour of Uttar Pradesh women, besides ensuring that law and order applied to all equally.

The judicial process should be started immediately and stern action taken against those responsible for the murder of Bhargava, she said.

"We will certainly expect the Chief Minister to seek a CBI probe as the state police had proved collusive action or incompetence for one month," she said, in reply to a question.

Asked about the prospects of the Congress candidates in the Rajya Sabha elections from Uttar Pradesh, Ms Natarajan said.On the oppositions charge that the government had a plan to promulgate an ordinance to exclude Congress President Sonia Gandhi's post of National Advisory Council from the definition of office of profit, she said "we are not aware of any ordinance proposed by the government on the issue. We have not seen a piece of paper on this." In this context, she pointed out that "it was an overreaction of the Opposition parties on the basis of newspaper reports".

"The Government did not mishandle the issue anyway," she said in reply to another question on the subject.

UNI