The police have objected to a petition filed by a member of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in the Madras High Court Bench here seeking a CBI probe into a case registered against BJP national secretary H. Raja on the charge of making a malicious public speech in Chennai on January 4.
In a counter-affidavit filed before a Division Bench of Justices V. Dhanapalan and V.M. Velumani on Friday, Inspector-General of Police (Administration) S. Davidson Devasirvatham said: “The contention that the CBI should take a leading role in investigating such political and sensitive matters is unsustainable and devoid of merits as the CBI is primarily an anti-corruption agency.”
Denying the petitioner’s allegation that the “political atmosphere” would not allow the State police to discharge their functions in accordance with law and inquire into the charges against Mr. Raja without any bias, the IG said: “Such kind of allegations have been made without any basis… The petitioner has made false and frivolous allegations to malign the police and the government.”
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He went on to state, “The police will take all steps and initiate action against any person belonging to any religion without fear or favour if they make speeches or indulge in acts that would invite criminal action. Since the complaint is made based on the speech available on YouTube, the same has to be thoroughly verified before coming to a conclusion.”