Ex CO Nithari suspended following sting 'expose'

Lucknow, Feb 3: Circle Officer (CO), Noida incharge of Nithari Dinesh Yadav, who has been transferred yesterday, was suspended today, even as the process was on to transfer SSP (Gautam Buddha Nagar) R K S Rathore.

Yadav's suspension came in wake of a sting operation by a private news channel in which it had been claimed that the CO had spoken to the brother of chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, Shivpal, a day before a special police team was to visit the scene of crime -- the place where skeletal remains of several children were found.

A day after the channel broadcast the expose, Yadav was transferred to Agra-based 14th battalion of PAC. His uspension was announced by Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh in a press conference this morning.

''The state government is committed to an impartial probe into the case...Chief Minister Mulayam Singh would not spare anyone found guilty,'' he asserted.

Earlier, the state government had suspended three police officials and dismissed six others in connection with the ghastly Nithari kilings.

Mr Singh also informed that SSP (Gautam Buddha Nagar) R K S Rathore would be transferred soon.

The SP general secretary also defended state PWD minister Shivpal Singh Yadav about his talks with Dinesh Yadav. ''It is a protocol that DM, SDM and CO remain in touch with a minister,'' he added.

According to the sting operation, there is evidence that the Nithari CO and the minister spoke to each other three times within 16 minutes on January 1, just a day before a special police team was to visit there. The exact content of this conversation is, however, not known.

The expose claims on January 5, Yadav spoke to Samajwadi Party MP from Lakhimpur, Ravi Prakash Verma. Incidentally, on that day the police official accompanied prime accused in the murders, Moninder Singh Pandher and co accused Surender Koli, to Gujarat for a narco-analysis test.

In a brief interaction with reporters here yesterday, Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav had refused to comment on the Nitheri serial killings and related issues. ''The matter is with the CBI...it is under investigation by that agency.''

UNI