Nithari fallout: Ex CO suspended, SSP removed
Lucknow, Feb 3 (UNI) Circle Officer (CO), Noida incharge of Nithari Dinesh Yadav, who has been transferred yesterday, was suspended today, even as SSP (Gautam Buddha Nagar) R K S Rathore was attached to the DGP office.
SSP (Ardh Kumbh) Raiv Sabbarwal has been made the new SSP of Gautam Buddha Nagar, police sources confirmed.
Yadav's suspension came in wake of a sting operation by a private news channel in which it had been claimed that the Circle Officer 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 suspension 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.
Within an hour of Mr Singh'S announcement that SSP (Gautam Buddha Nagar) R K S Rathore would be transferred, he was removed and attached to the DGP office here. Sabbarwal is likely to take charge of his new posting shortly.
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