CPI demands thorough probe into recent serial bomb blasts

New Delhi, Aug 20 (UNI) Concerned over the spurt in terrorist activities, the Communist Party of India (CPI) today demanded a thorough probe into the serial bomb blasts in Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Jaipur.

In a statement, the party said the nefarious designs of terrorists need to be probed thoroughly and the culprits severely punished.

However, the statement decried the growing tendency in media to conduct media trials and deliver verdicts even before the investigating agencies completed their work or filed chargesheet.

In the Aarushi-Hemraj murder case, the Supreme Court emphasised the need that ''both the print and electronic media should exercise caution in publishing any news regarding the case in question, which may have the effect of prejudicing defence of the accused or damaging the reputation of any person connected with the case.'' Unfortunately, during the past few days, a section of media has thrown to the winds the caution of the apex court in another case involving an entire community, the statement added.

During the past few days, a few TV channels ran stories related to cracking of the plots of the serial bombings in several cities including Ahmedabad. Dramatised versions of certain events not the live players, and parts of investigations have been telecast as facts with the intention to malign entire religious community.

''What is more dangerous is that the educated section of the Muslim is being maligned of being part of the terrorist conspiracies,'' it said.

It is strange that most of the stories on unearthing the serial bomb blasts conspiracy were based on investigations conducted by the Gujarat police, the statement said.

According to the statement, the Gujarat police is not known for its fairness and secular impartiality. It has earned notoriety in fabricating false evidence and faking encounters including the one of Sohrabuddin.

It is prudent that police are restricted from giving imaginative stories on its probe before filing the chargesheet, the statement added.

The statement opined that communilisation of terrorism-related incidents would create a communal cleavage that would be difficult to bridge and ''cause immense harm to our secular polity.'' UNI BKS LPB RP HS1646