Written by: Express News Service
2 min readRajkotAug 30, 2010 05:41 AM IST
First published on: Aug 30, 2010 at 05:41 AM IST
Slain RTI activist Amit Jethava’s father,Bhikha,has claimed that a whopping Rs 1 crore,and not Rs 15 lakh as is being stated,was passed for the contract killing of his son.
He alleged that the amount was raised by Junagadh BJP MP Dinesh Solanki from various illegal miners on the pretext of fighting the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Amit in the Gujarat High Court against the illegal mining activities surrounding Gir Wildlife Sanctuary. Bhikha said the MP had raised a fund of Rs 45 lakh from various miners under this guise.
“Many of these miners have come forward and told me the truth. They had given money to fight a legal battle. They had no idea that the MP would use it to give a supari for my son’s murder. The police might say that Rs 15 lakh was given to kill him. But according to the miners,around Rs 45 lakh was raised among themselves,and the supari was to the tune of Rs 1 crore,” said Bhikha. He refused to reveal the names of the miners saying it would endanger their lives.
Bhikha has been demanding a CBI probe in the killing saying he has little trust on the state police. The Ahmedabad Crime Branch has named Solanki’s nephew Pratap alias Shiva as the main conspirator in the murder case,but Bhikha has refused to give any statement to Gujarat Police in the matter.
Amit (32) was shot dead from point blank range opposite the Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad on July 20. The city crime branch has arrested six people,including a constable from Junagadh,in connection with the murder. Shiva is absconding.
Bhikha said: “On the very next day of the murder I had given my statement that Dinu Solanki is behind my son’s killing. Till date,the Ahmedabad police have not come to take my signature on that statement. Why should I go and tell them about the other developments,when I do not trust them. I want a CBI probe.”
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