CBI probe into Gohana announced

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Monday announced a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the burning of Dalits' houses in Gohana and the murder of a man that allegedly led to the violence.

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Hooda made the announcement after several legislators from Haryana and one from Delhi met him at his residence in New Delhi and demanded a CBI investigation.

"We will give the investigation into the murder (of an upper caste businessman) and arson to the CBI. No one who had a hand in the violence will be spared," Hooda said. The chief minister also accepted the legislators' demand to double the interim relief for each affected family to Rs 1 lakh.

The announcements were made within hours of a Dalit mahapanchayat in New Delhi demanding Hooda's dismissal for alleged failure to protect more than 50 houses of Dalits in Gohana in Sonepat district burnt down on Wednesday. The arson was allegedly carried out by people who were protesting the "police inaction" in the murder case.

The legislators also demanded the immediate arrest of Bharatiya Janata Party member Krishan Singh Sangwan's son and brother, booked for the murder.

Hooda said there was now 'complete harmony' between different communities in the violence-hit area and warned BJP to desist from 'trying to gain political mileage from the situation'.