Gujarat's MLA demands probe into 'fake' killings

The legislator submitted a memorandum to the Governor demanding a CBI inquiry into the cases.

In a move that could embarrass Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a dissident legislator of his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) on Thursday demanded an inquiry into reports of extra-judicial killings in the state.

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Dissident legislator Siddhartha Parmar submitted a memorandum to Governor Naval Kishore Sharma, demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the cases of what is known as 'fake encounters' in the state.

In his letter, copies of which were made available to the media, he has mentioned several police 'encounters' since Modi won the December 2002 assembly elections.

Parmar's demand comes in the wake of the Gujarat government's admission before the Supreme Court on Friday that the husband of a woman, who had gone missing two years ago, was killed in a 'fake encounter' with the police. The government added that it was taking action against the erring personnel.

According to Jaspal Singh, a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and former BJP minister, about 40 extra-judicial killings have taken place in the state.

Parmar said in his letter: "Having failed on all counts with corruption ruling the roost, the Modi government has adopted the tactic of encountering innocent people to divert people's attention."