HC tells CBI to probe Rai murder case

Causing an embarrassment to the Mulayam Singh Yadav government, the Allahabad High Court today directed the CBI to conduct ‘‘an expeditious inquiry’’ into the killing of BJP legislator Krishnanand Rai.

Rai was killed along with seven others on November 29 last year on his way back from a marriage party in the district. Mafia don-turned-legislator (Independent) Mukhtar Ansari and his brother Afzal Ansari, Samajwadi Party MP from Ghazipur, and eight others have been named as accused in the case. A petition for a CBI inquiry into one of the most sensational political murders of the state was filed in the high court by the wife of the slain legislator, Alka Rai, a few months back and the court had asked the Mulayam government about its opinion. The state government in its application filed on January 31 had refused a CBI inquiry claiming that the Special Task Force was handling the murder case and that none of the guilty would be spared.

Reacting to the government’s claim, Alka again approached the court and a two-member Bench of Amitava Lala and Shiv Shanker today directed the CBI inquiry into the case.

Earlier, on December 4, Brijesh Rai, brother of Krishnanad, had also met the Chief Minister and demanded a CBI probe but Mulayam ‘‘assured’’ him that the UP Police would not spare anyone found guilty, but refused a CBI probe.