Maharajganj arson: Cong, BJP demand judicial probe

Leaders of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday visited the Digahi village of Maharajganj district, where ten people were charred to death on March 11, and demanded judicial enquiry into the arson.

Delegations of the Congress and BJP led by state president Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Surya Pratap Shahi respectively visited the village and met the kin of the victims.

The Congress leader demanded a judicial enquiry by a sitting judge into the incident. Joshi said that as the incident occurred in the presence of police, guilty officers should be shifted and cases be lodged against those who had committed laxity in execution of their responsibility. "Such an incident is a mockery of law and order situation and shameful for the state government," she alleged.

The BJP state president Shahi while holding administration and police officers responsible for the incident demanded stern action against them. "This incident is a blot on the government. A judicial enquiry should be ordered and Rs 10 lakh compensation be given to the kin of victims," he demanded.

Agitated over the murder of village head Dina Nath Singh in Digahi village, irate mob torched the house of two accused Ayodhya Dubey and Dwarika Dubey, leading to the death of 10 persons, including five children on March 11.