Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal on Friday said that a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the cases related to February’s Jat quota agitation is under consideration.
The Chief Minister while talking to the mediapersons at an event here, said that a final decision regarding this would be taken soon.
Even as the Manohar lal Khattar Government had set up a two-member Commission headed by Justice SN Jha (retd) to inquire into the conspiracy angle to February’s Jat reservation stir, the State Government has now decided to go for a CBI probe in some cases related to the agitation. The State Government has recommended the CBI probe into the incident of arson and violence at properties of state Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu in Rohtak during Jat stir. The Government has already sent a request to the Centre in this regard. Rohtak was the epicentre of the Jat agitation for a quota in jobs and education in which over 30 lives were lost and property worth hundreds of crores destroyed. Several government and private buildings were damaged by protesters, including Capt Abhimanyu’s palatial house.
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, which had broke into his residence and set it on fire.
Meanwhile, the opposition has questioned the decision of Haryana Government to go for CBI probe.
Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has accused the State Government to order CBI investigations only to “override the report of Parkash Singh Committee”.
A committee under retired IPS officer Parkash Singh had held several police officers guilty of acts of omission and commission and accused the State Government for mishandling the violence.
Raising questions on the State Government, Hooda said that why CBI investigations is limited to few cases and not into all cases in February’s violent Jat protests, including suspected gangrapes at Murthal.
On the other hand, INlD has alleged that the Haryana Government has no faith on the judicial commission set up to probe the Jat agitation. If the Commission is already probing the Jat agitation cases, what is the need to go for CBI probe, said the party. Notably, the judicial commission is inquiring into all facts and circumstances relating to the occurrence of violence leading to loss of lives, damage to properties, both private and public including roads, canals, railway stations, police stations and illegal felling of trees and violation of human rights from February 18 to 23 during Jat agitation in seven districts namely Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonepat, Jind, Hisar, Kaithal and Bhiwani.