The CBI on Thursday booked former Uttar Pradesh minister Raja Bhaiyya on murder charges for the killing of DSP Zia-ul-Haq, shot dead at Kunda in Pratapgarh on March 2 following violence in Walipur village.
The CBI started its probe into the triple murder in Pratapgarh, including the killing of Zia-ul-Haq, after the Centre handed over the probe to it late Wednesday night following a request letter from the state government.
Raghuraj Pratap Singh, alias Raja Bhaiyya, was named in one of four cases filed by the CBI based on a complaint by Haq’s widow Parveen Azad.
The CBI filed cases over the killings of Zia-ul-Haq, village head Nanhe Yadav and his brother Suresh Yadav during violence at Walipur village on March 2. The agency’s special crimes unit in New Delhi will be conducting the investigation.
Two FIRs were lodged over the murders of Nanhe and Suresh Yadav by their family, while the other two were lodged by the state police and the slain DSP’s widow.
CBI officials are now collecting newspaper clippings and video footage on the violence before heading for Pratapgarh. The officials are likely to camp in Allahabad as Pratapgarh is just an hour’s drive from there.
CBI sources said it will “soon call all accused, including Raja Bhaiyya, for questioning at its headquarters in New Delhi. The possibility of conducting lie-detection and brain-mapping tests on some of the accused also cannot be ruled out. They may also be subjected to a narco-analysis test if required, the sources added.
The sleuths will scrutinise the call details of all accused named in the FIRs, sources said, and some state police officials will also be questioned. Some “significant” arrests may be made in a day or two, the sources added.
It may be recalled that the murdered DSP’s widow had demanded that the case be handed over to the CBI, which was accepted by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav when he met her. The state government also recommended a CBI probe into the murders of the village pradhan and his brother.