The Allahabad High Court on Thursday set a three-month deadline for the Central Bureau of Investigation to complete the probe into the mysterious death of deputy chief medical officer Y.S. Sachan at the district jail in Lucknow.
The Lucknow bench of the High Court comprising justices Pradeep Kant and Ritu Raj Awasthi passed the order on a PIL seeking probe by the central agency into the death of Sachan, whose body was found with multiple injuries in the jail hospital toilet on the night of June 22.
The bench said that in its opinion, the CBI is the appropriate independent agency which needs to be entrusted with the task of investigating the custodial death of Sachan.
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It said that the probe should be completed expeditiously.
At the time of pronouncement of the order, Additional Advocate General J.N. Mathur produced a copy of the State government order issued on Wednesday recommending a CBI probe into the case.
“Consequent to our order and in view of the decision taken by the State government itself, the Director, CBI is directed to take charge of the investigation immediately from the local police,” the bench said.
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The court directed that reasons, circumstances and the cause of death of Sachan be investigated by the CBI.
“The CBI shall forthwith depute an officer to receive from the respondents all records relating to Sachan’s death and the respondents shall immediately hand over all such records to such officer,” it said.
“The State shall provide all assistance and logistic support. The investigation shall be completed expeditiously, say, within a maximum period of three months,” it said.
Arrested on charges of National Rural Health Mission fund embezzlement, 52-year-old Sachan was also named as the key conspirator in the murder case of CMO B.P. Singh in April following the arrest of three shooters hired to kill him.
Bowing to strident demands, U.P. Chief Minister Mayawati on Wednesday ordered a CBI inquiry into the death of Sachan.
The decision came on the back of a judicial probe finding that the deputy CMO’s death prima facie was a case of murder.
The State government and police had initially claimed Sachan committed suicide.