HC issues notice to UP govt on Bhatta Parsaul

Taking serious note of the allegations about atrocities on farmers in Bhatta Parsaul village in greater Noida, the Allahabad High Court on Friday issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government, seeking a reply within the next 30 days.

The order came in a Public Interest Litigation moved by a Greater Noida-based social worker, Atul Kumar, who had sought a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the alleged mass killing of farmers during a police firing earlier this month.

While fixing July 11 as the date for the next hearing in the case, a division bench comprising Justice Vineet saran and Justice Vikram Nath expressed concern over the violence that had left two farmers and two policemen dead.

Contradicting official claims, the petitioner however alleged that at least seven persons were missing from the village. He also expressed grave apprehension that these persons were gunned down in the police firing.

He therefore felt that a CBI probe alone could unravel the truth.

The UP government, however opposed the petition on the plea that it was "politically motivated with the intent of tarnishing the image of the state government."