E-Paper
2013 DSP murder case: CBI likely to resume probe into Kunda MLA’s role after SC order
A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi said, “In our view, the high court took a hyper technical view between re-investigation and further investigation.” The HC had held that the special CBI court’s order of July 8, 2014 amounted to a “re-investigation”.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday paved the way for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the role of sitting Uttar Pradesh legislator Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya in the brutal killing of a senior police officer in 2013.
Deciding on a petition filed by the widow of the slain officer, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Zia-ul-Haq, the top court set aside a November 2022 order passed by the Allahabad high court that stayed a trial court’s decision of July 2014 rejecting the closure report submitted by the CBI against Raja Bhaiya and four of his accomplices and ordering further investigation in the matter. Raja Bhaiya is currently a member of the UP legislative assembly from the Kunda constituency.
A bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi said, “In our view, the high court took a hyper technical view between re-investigation and further investigation.” The HC had held that the special CBI court’s order of July 8, 2014 amounted to a “re-investigation”.
Haq was killed on March 2, 2013 while on duty. He had reached Ballipur village in Kunda after four persons murdered the village pradhan, Nanhe Yadav. Haq took Yadav to a hospital but could not save him. While bringing the body back to the village, Haq was attacked by a mob, and one person, allegedly an accomplice of Raja Bhaiya’s, shot the police officer, leading to his death.
Reviving the trial court’s verdict, the top court said, “There does not appear to be an error on part of the magistrate directing further investigation.” The trial court order had asked CBI to probe the role of Raja Bhaiya, who was a minister in the state government at the time, along with Gulshan Yadav, then chairman of Kunda Nagar Panchayat, and three accomplices of the Kunda MLA -- Hariom Shrivastava, Rohit Singh and Guddu Singh.
These persons were named by the slain officer’s widow Parveen Azad in her police complaint. Soon after the CBI submitted a closure report on her complaint on July 31, 2013, Azad filed a protest petition.
In her petition before the top court, Azad accused the CBI of ignoring crucial facts in the case pointing to the role of Raja Bhaiya. She questioned how the police team deserted her husband as no other police personnel received any injuries. Haq handling an investigation into sand mining and riots cases implicating Raja Bhaiya and his accomplices pointed to a motive for his elimination. She even questioned the charge sheet filed by the CBI which named the family of the deceased pradhan Nanhe Yadav behind the police officer’s killing.
Azad told the top court that under Section 156(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), the magistrate was empowered to accept or reject the final report submitted by the investigating agency. In this regard, the magistrate ordered further probe which was different from re-investigation.
The CBI filed two charge sheets and listed 14 accused and 85 witnesses in Haq’s murder. Out of these, the petition pointed out, statements of 36 key witnesses were not recorded; this became crucial to Raja Bhaiya and others getting a clean chit.
