Lakhimpur Kheri : 'No Faith In UP SIT', Widow Of Slain BJP Worker Tells Supreme Court; Seeks CBI Probe

The widow of Shyam Sunder, the BJP worker who got killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence of October 3, expressed before the Supreme Court on Monday her lack of confidence in the Uttar Pradesh Police investigation.

Senior Advocate Arun Bharadwaj, appearing for Ruby Devi who has intervened in the PIL seeking proper investigation of the case, submitted before a bench headed before the Chief Justice of India that Shyam Sunder was last seen with the police officers before his death.

Bharadwaj flashed a photograph before the bench, saying that Shyam Sunder could be seen in the picture along with policemen with bullet proof vests and AK-47s.

"I have photograph of him before he was killed...he was with policemen had bullet proof jacket with AK 47 rifles", Bharadwaj said. He said that he had emailed the photograph to the Additional Advocate General of Uttar Pradesh 15 days back, but nothing was done.

The bench asked Bharadwaj to refrain from showing the photograph, saying that the Court is not investigating the case.

Bharadwaj said that the Special Investigation Team has not called for the mobile phones of the policemen seen in the photograph for examination.

"These policemen must have had mobiles", he said.

"Mr Salve, you heard the counsel for the wife of Shyam Sundar?", the CJI then turned to Senior Advocate Harish Salve, who was appearing for the State of Uttar Pradesh.

"He was not in police custody", Salve disputed the claim that Shyam Sunder was in police custody. He said that the police was trying to rescue people from mob lynching.

Expressing lack of confidence with the UP SIT probe, Bharadwaj made a demand for CBI probe.

"We don't have faith in this SIT of Uttar Pradesh. We want CBI in this", Bharadwaj added.

"CBI can't be a solution for everything", the bench said. The bench said that it is contemplating the appointment of a retired judge of a High Court of another State to monitor the investigation on a daily basis to "infuse fairness and impartiality".

Bharadwaj also complained that the witnesses in the case relating to killing of Shyam Sunder are not given protection, as the UP Police is saying that the Supreme Court direction for witness protection is related to only the case of killing of farmers.

The bench adjourned the hearing till Friday, asking Salve to get instructions from the UP Government on the issues flagged by the Court.

The bench comprising the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli said that the investigation is "not going the way we expected". The bench expressed dissatisfaction at the fact that the forensic lab reports regarding the video evidence have not yet come and that the mobile phones of all accused have not been seized.

The bench also expressed concerns about the case against the prime accused in the case relating to attack on farmers being diluted by clubbing the investigation with the counter-case of mob lynching. The bench observed that the investigation in the both cases must be separate and the statements of witnesses in the both cases must be recorded independently.

The bench said that it was proposing to appoint a retired judge from a High Court of another state to monitor the investigation to ensure that there is no overlapping of the evidence of both cases. There is a need to infuse fairness and impartiality in the investigation, the bench orally commented.

The bench was hearing a PIL registered on the basis of a letter petition sent by two lawyers seeking impartial probe into the Lakhmipur Kheri violence of October 3,which claimed the lives of 8 people, four of them being farmers protesters who were allegedly mowed down by the vehicles in the convoy of Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister and BJP MP Ajay Kumar Mishra.

Also Read - Lakhmipur Kheri Case Probe "Not Going The Way We Expected" : Supreme Court Mulls Appointing Retired HC Judge To Monitor

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