UP govt orders CBI inquiry into Lakhimpur case

A day after the apex court ordered a CBI inquiry into alleged rape of a girl by Banda Bahujan Samaj Party MLA, Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday recommended handing over to the agency the sensational Lakhimpur case in which body of a 14-year-old girl was found hanging from a tree in a police station.

The two cases had caused a major embarrassment to Mayawati government with the opposition attacking it on the law and order situation in the state.

Chief Minister Mayawati has recommended a CBI probe into the alleged rape and murder of the girl who was found hanging from a tree inside the premises of Nighasan police station in June, a release issued by the home department said.

Though the CB-CID inquiry was ordered in the case and a chargesheet against three policemen of the police station was submitted, the government believed that strong action needed to be taken against the guilty no matter how much influential they might be, the release said.

Giving an account of the steps taken by the Mayawati government in connection with the case, the release pointed out that besides suspending the entire workforce of the police station concerned, the superintendent of police had been suspended and circle officer transferred.

A case of rape and murder was registered on June 10 after which a panel of three doctors conducted the post mortem which was video graphed, it said.

Another post-mortem was also conducted on June 13 in which the cause of death was strangulation and rape was ruled out, the release added.

Meanwhile, the state government on Tuesday sent a formal letter on the CBI inquiry into the Banda rape case and clarified that the victim, Sheelu, is not a dalit but belongs to other backward caste.