Police have given a clean chit to MLA Mukhtar Ansari and his MP brother Afzal in connection with Tuesday's blast at the residence of slain BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai in Ghazipur. The Ghazipur district administration on Thursday ordered an inquiry into the blast.
An FIR had been lodged against the Ansari brothers on Tuesday evening on the complaint of Rai's nephew Manoj Rai. Manoj is a key witness in the murder case in which Mukhtar and Afzal are among the accused.
"The FIR stands closed now,” a police officer said. Police sources said a final report had been given in the matter. The police dismissed as false Manoj's allegation against the Ansaris. Police had arrested Manoj and one Babudhan on Tuesday in connection with the blast.
“I have ordered an inquiry into Tuesday's blast,” Ghazipur District Magistrate Ritu Singla told Hindustan Times. The DM added that Additional District Magistrate (Finance) Ramdin was asked to investigate the blast.
In Varanasi, former MP and Krishnanand Rai's confidant Manoj Sinha raised doubts about the manner in which blast case was being handled.
“Police have given a clean chit to the main accused in the Krishnanand Rai murder case within hours of registration of an FIR against him in connection with the blast,” Sinha said at a Press conference.
{{/usCountry}}“Police have given a clean chit to the main accused in the Krishnanand Rai murder case within hours of registration of an FIR against him in connection with the blast,” Sinha said at a Press conference.
{{/usCountry}}He said Krishnanand's wife Alka Rai had repeatedly told the administration that witnesses in her husband's murder case were being targeted. Two witnesses had died in mysterious circumstances in the past.
“We wonder why police did not look at this angle though the main eyewitness was inside the house when the blast took place,” Sinha said. He reiterated his party's demand for a CBI probe into the blast.
Meanwhile, the CBI, which is investigating the Krishnanand Rai murder case, visited the blast site on Wednesday. Sources said the CBI videographed the portion of the house in which the blast had occurred.
There were reports that a delegation of Samajwadi Party activists called on the Superintendent of Police, Ghazipur, on Thursday. They demanded Alka Rai's arrest in connection with the blast.