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SIT not enough, need judicial probe: Trivendra Singh Rawat
Trivendra Singh Rawat’s statement comes days after chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat alleged that the fake testing case did not happen during his tenure.
Former chief minister of Uttarakhand, Trivendra Singh Rawat, on Saturday demanded a judicial inquiry into the allegations of fake Covid testing during the Kumbh Mela in Haridwar, asserting that his successor Tirath Singh Rawat’s decision to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was not enough for an “interstate matter”.
“The Chief Minister (Tirath Singh Rawat) has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT), but a judicial inquiry is necessary in this matter because it is an interstate matter. People can doubt whether the inquiry will be accurate or not,” said Rawat.
The former CM added that he asked for a judicial inquiry as it will be more credible. “I am not against the special investigation team (SIT) but it is a question of public perception. People have more faith in the court. In this year’s Kumbh mela, people from all over the world came to Haridwar. In such a situation, it would be better if a trusted investigative agency probes the matter.”
Trivendra Singh Rawat’s statement comes days after chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat alleged that the fake testing case did not happen during his tenure. “I came in March and this is an old issue. When we got information about this, we immediately instituted an inquiry... Strict action will be taken against the guilty,” he said on June 17.
On the same day, the former CM had called the case “a serious crime, not negligence”, and sought an investigation.
Tirath Singh Rawat replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat in March this year, weeks before the mega holy event was to kick off in Haridwar. One of the CM’s first decisions was to approve a full-scale Kumbh mela despite experts warning that social distancing and adequate testing will be impossible amid a raging second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
