The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday registered three cases to probe into the incidents of violence and arson during the Jat reservation agitation in Haryana’s Rohtak in February, including the burning of residence of Haryana Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu.
“The CBI has taken over the investigation of these cases on the request of Haryana Government and further orders from Government of India,” said a CBI spokesperson.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered three cases on allegations relating to violence during a caste based agitation in district Rohtak (Haryana) in February, 2016. The allegations include attacking, looting of weapons of the police guard, attempting to murder the family members and burning down the residence of Finance Minister in the Government of Haryana, said he.
Two of these three cases pertain to violence and arson at the residence of Finance Minister.
During Jat reservation stir in February, a mob had broken into the home of the Finance Minister in Rohtak and set it on fire. The mob came for two days until the bungalow — located in one of Rohtak’s most upscale areas - was burnt to the ground.
Following the incident, the Finance Minister had alleged that it was a political conspiracy to wipe out his entire family and mostly Congress workers were in the mob.
The third case registered by the CBI relates to allegations of looting of weapons from a company of BSF and Haryana Police and attempting to murder them by thousands of armed rioters while they were on law and order duty at Delhi Bypass, Rohtak, said the spokesperson.
A large number of persons were allegedly injured and some of them grievously in these violent attacks. It is alleged that property worth crores of rupees was burnt and weapons of police guards were looted by the agitators who were demanding reservation for a certain community in Haryana. These cases have been transferred by the Government of Haryana to CBI, said the CBI spokesperson.
He added that further investigation is in progress.
Haryana was on boil between February 14 and 23 this year when members of the Jat community held protests and indulged in arson, to press for reservation quota. The epicentre of the violence was the State’s Rohtak district.
While 30 people had died, more than 300 were injured during the Jat agitation. More than 2,000 criminal cases have been registered in various police stations of the State in connection with the reservation agitation.
The Manohar lal Khattar led Haryana Government had recommended a CBI probe into the incidents of arson and vandalism at the residence of State Finance Minister, residence of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Circuit House in Rohtak while the opposition has been demanding a CBI inquiry into the entire episode of violence and arson during February’s Jat stir.
A two-member Commission headed by Justice SN Jha (retd) is also inquiring into the conspiracy angle to February’s Jat reservation stir.