Bhagalpur riots: Nitish Kumar orders judicial probe

The three-month-old Nitish Kumar government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the Bhagalpur communal riots of 1989, one of the worst in independent India. The riots left 1,000, mostly Muslims, dead.

A special meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by the Chief Minister, decided to get the matter probed by a one-man Judicial Commission, which will bring to justice the accused who managed to go free despite evidences, punish the errant officials and suggest a rehabilitation package for the victims.

The Commission will be headed by a serving or retired judge of the Patna High Court and asked to submit its report within six months of its inception. The Commission, if it so desired, might also submit an interim report, Kumar told reporters after the three-hour-long meeting.

The government has asked the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court to appoint a judge for the purpose.