Mulayam should resign to facilitate CBI probe: BJP

New Delhi, Jan 3 (UNI) The BJP today demanded a CBI probe into the ghastly killings of countless missing children aged between six to nine years in Nithari village in NOIDA district, adjacent to national capital, and asked Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav to quit owning up responsibility for failure of administration.

Talking to newspersons after visiting the village, BJP Vice President Vinay Katiyar and Lok Sabha member from NOIDA Mr Ashok Pradhan alleged that the state government was delaying the probe in an obvious effort to save the 'big fish' involved in the scandal.

Mr Katiyar warned that the delay in instituting an inquiry is going to cost the government very dearly and it appeared that it was an attempt to save the people involved in a 'big organised racket.' ''They may prolong to suppress truth but we will create a situation where they will be forced to order the probe,'' he remarked.

He said Uttar Pradesh was in difficulty whenever Mr Mulayam is CM, and there was killing, tension and kidnapping in every district of the state. "The officials are pursuing the dictates of the ruling party to protect thiefs and thugs involved in the scandal and only a probe by an outside agency can bring out the failure of the administration," he charged.

Mr Pradhan, a former Union Minister in the NDA government, said he had written at least six letters since January 2006 to Mr Mulayam Singh expressing concern about missing children and all of them went unreplied and no action was taken to set things right. Even after surfacing of the scandal, the CM was yet to visit the affected people. He said the children did not go missing in one day but over a period of time.

Mr Nand Lal, the father of Payal, the lone known adult to be allegedly killed by Mohinder Singh and Surendra duo narrated how he was shunted from pillar to post just to get the FIR registered about his daughter's disappearance in May 2006. The police refused to file the FIR despite SSP's oral orders. The FIR was registered only after a Allahabad High Court order. The police did not register the case even after local court ordered them to register the case. Even as late as 10 days ago the U P police was attempting to pressurise his family members in Uttaranchal. He said he feared that he may be done to death in an 'encounter' to finish off the evidence.

Area MLA Nawab Singh Nagar said District Magistrate, Superintendent of Police and SHO of the Nithari village were all from one single Yadav caste and the common man never had an opportunity to get justice going outside this 'Yadav raj' that ruled the roost in the state. ''Wherever you may go, all your cries would go unnoticed and there was no possibility for ensuring justice to the people,'' he lamented.

Mr Katiyar said while this had happened under the very nose of Delhi, in far off village of Khetihar in Gorakhpur, about 50 children had died and the administration was blaming it on 'bad quality' of water. Three children had died in one family, he said. He said the party would step up pressure on the State and the Central Governments '' which could not shirk their share of responsibility to protect the lives of innocent children from the moneyed sharks.'' UNI