Reacting to the death of Rohit Pande, who had attempted self-immolation during the NSUI-led student stir, demanding removal of the station officer at Ramnagar on November 3 and had succumbed to his injuries on November 10 in Delhi, the State BJP said that the State Government should recommend a CBI inquiry into it.
They further alleged that by conducting CB-CID inquiry, the State Government wants to hush up the case. Talking to The Pioneer, the State BJP president Tirath Singh Rawat said that the victim was being harassed by the police following the direction of a leader who is believed to have considerable clout over the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
The fact is that those who are being blamed by none other than the NSUI activists and the Youth Congress activists for this ghastly incident, are reported to be close to the Chief Minister, Harish Rawat, himself. This is the reason why the State Government cannot shrug its responsibility off the case merely by removing a few officials, the BJP leader said.
Although the State Government has marked CBI -CID inquiry, but the BJP is for a full-fledged CBI inquiry. This would alone unravel things and fix responsibility for the unfortunate death of the student because Rohit was provoked to do so.
It is an open secret that a political rivalry has been intensifying between Sanjay Negi and former Congress MlA from Salt, Ranjeet Rawat. Both of them have their eyes trained on the Ramnagar Assembly seat. This coming to the light has made it imperative that the sequence of events leading to the student’s death must be probed by CBI. “The case is one of intra-party rivalry,” the State BJP chief said.
He further said that his party would raise the issue during the upcoming winter session of the Assembly. The incident reveals that the law and order situation in the State has been fast deteriorating, Rawat said. Pandey had sustained severe burn injuries when he allegedly had attempted to immolate himself at Ramnagar in protest against the booking of some NSUI leaders by police in a case of arson.
He was demanding immediate transfer of the police officer whom he had accused of implicating five Union activists under a false case of torching three bikes parked outside the ABVP office at Maldhan in the district during the students’ union polls held there recently.
However, when the demand was not considered, he, in a fit of frustration, allegedly went for the self-immolation bid. He died after nearly a week-long treatment in Delhi.