Una flogging: Gujarat govt opposes CBI probe

Ahmedabad, Oct 6: Gujarat government on Wednesday opposed the demand for a CBI probe into the Una Dalit atrocity incident before the Gujarat High Court, saying that the investigation done by the CID was "immaculate".

In an affidavit filed before the division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice VM Pancholi, the government also said that Thangadh Dalit killing incident of 2012 had "a completely different set of facts that cannot be equated with the facts of the present (Una) case".

The government's reply came in response to a public interest litigation seeking a CBI probe in the Una case where some Dalit men were flogged in public on the suspicion of having killed a cow.

The petition said the probe by state CID may remain inconclusive, as in the case of death of three Dalit youths in police firing at Thangadh in Surendranagar in 2012.

The government's affidavit said that while in the Thangadh case CID filed a closure summary report (saying there was no evidence), in the Una incident CID had filed a charge sheet against all the accused, including four policemen.

"The (Thangadh) incident has a completely different set of facts....In so far as the present case is concerned, immaculate investigation has been carried out by the team (of CID)," it said.

Witnesses' statements and reports of the Forensic Science Laboratory and material evidence had made the prosecution's case strong, the government said.

"The chargesheet has been filed in less than two months against 34 accused and other charge sheets for other accused will be filed in due course," it said.

Advocate Ratna Vora, the lawyer for petitioner Kantibhai Chavda, today argued that he suspected there was a "larger conspiracy", which CID had not probed.

The High Court asked the petitioner to file a reply by October 18.

PTI