The Hindu : Mayawati refers Madhumita murder case to CBI

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 18, 2003

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Mayawati refers Madhumita murder case to CBI

By J.P. Shukla

LUCKNOW JUNE 17. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mayawati, said today that she would refer the Madhumita Shukla murder case to the Central Bureau of Investigation following reports that the family members of the poet had made a request to the effect. Ms. Mayawati told newspersons that the Director-General Crime Branch CID, Mahendra Lalka, had been suspended for the agency's ``failure" to produce result during the one-month investigation. Six CID officers handling the case had been given adverse entry in their service records and were removed.

Madhumita, a young poet, was found murdered at her residence here last month and the first reports pointed to the involvement of the U.P. Minister, Amarmani Tripathi. Ten days after the murder, the case was handed to the CB-CID following allegations that local police were protecting the Minister. Mr. Tripathi was dropped from the Ministry.

Ms. Mayawati had handed over the case to the CB-CID on May 17 directing it to send her a report within a month. While the deadline expired on Monday, the agency neither sent her a report nor did it seek more time. The family members of Madhumita and the Opposition alleged the CB-CID had made no attempt to nab the culprits. Ms. Mayawati said the family members now had made a written request for a CBI inquiry and as per her earlier promise she had conceded the request. As for action against Mr. Tripathi, Ms. Mayawati said he had told her that he was quite innocent and that the Opposition had made wrong allegations of his involvement. She is believed to have told Mr. Tripathi during his meeting with her on Monday that if the family members of Madhumita vouched his innocence by writing personally to her, the Governor and the Director-General of Police, she would rehabilitate him in the party. Otherwise, he would have to wait till the outcome of the CBI inquiry. If he was implicated by the CBI, he would be expelled from the BSP.

Request withdrawn

PTI reports:

In a sudden volte face, Madhumita's family members withdrew their request for a CBI probe into the murder, saying they had full faith in the CB-CID, official sources told PTI today.

The DGP office had received two fax messages from Shanti Shukla, mother of Madhumita, saying they had no problem with CB-CID and were "satisfied with the on-going probe".

`Tripathi was not named in FIR'

A report from Lakhimpur Khiri said Shanti Shukla had faxed a letter to the Governor saying she had never accused Mr. Tripathi in the case "as we have never named Tripathi in the FIR, we have no right to declare him guilty."

A copy of the letter was also sent to the Chief Minister's office. This comes hours after Ms. Mayawati said she would re-induct Mr. Tripathi if Madhumita's family members give in writing that they did not consider him guilty. Shanti Shukla refused to say anything on Ms. Mayawati's decision to hand over the case to the CBI.

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