Uttar Pradesh police to probe arson attack on Joshi’s house (Second Lead)
July 19th, 2009 - 8:43 pm ICT by IANS
Lucknow/New Delhi, July 19 (IANS) The Uttar Pradesh government Sunday announced a crime branch inquiry into the arson attack on state Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi’s house following her remarks on Chief Minister Mayawati. But the Congress demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the incident.
“Now, CB-CID (crime branch-criminal investigation department) would investigate the case,” Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh told reporters in Lucknow Sunday.
Joshi’s house in Lucknow was set on fire Wednesday night allegedly by a group of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) workers because she made remarks that offended Mayawati both as a woman and a Dalit.
Joshi was arrested early Thursday and charged under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. She was granted bail by a Moradabad court Saturday.
Joshi has already apologised for her remarks and demanded that the probe into the arson attack onher house be conducted by the CBI. “I am sorry for what I said. My issue was right and it is a debatable one. The Uttar Pradesh government is very insensitive. They do not care for the women,” she told reporters in New Delhi Sunday.
“The probe should be done by the CBI,” she said. Joshi said she felt “embarrassed” after making those remarks but “the intention was not to demean any individual, forget about a caste”.
Joshi, who is in the national capital to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi, described the charges against her as “disproportionate and illegal”, and said she was “ready to go to jail a hundred times and will continue to fight for the poor, downtrodden and women’s rights”.
Congress general secretary and incharge of Uttar Pradesh Digvijay Singh said the Uttar Pradesh “police were there when BSP workers were torching Rita’s house. I don’t expect them to be fair.”
“Till the time the state government doesn’t recommend a CBI inquiry into the incident, Congress workers will keep pressing for it,” he told reporters in the capital.
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- Arson in Rita Bahuguna Joshi's house: Cops' call records to be checked - Aug 08, 2009
- UP Govt. orders CB-CID probe into Joshi's house arson case - Jul 19, 2009
- Congress holds Mayawati guilty for attack on Joshi's Lucknow house - Jul 25, 2009
- Rita Bahuguna's plea sent to high court chief justice - Nov 08, 2011
- BSP workers hold 'anti-Joshi' rallies, take pride in arson - Jul 22, 2009
- Arrest of BSP leaders for arson a ploy: Congress - Mar 04, 2011
- Verma seeks post-poll ties with BSP, Congress terms it personal view (Lead) - Mar 04, 2012
- UP Congress chief Joshi moves court, seeks CBI probe for Lucknow arson attack - Jul 22, 2009
Tags: arson attack, cabinet secretary, castes, cbi inquiry, cbi probe, central bureau of investigation, congress chief, congress president sonia gandhi, crime branch, criminal investigation department, digvijay singh, government doesn, incharge, joshi, Mayawati, moradabad, shashank, shekhar, state congress, uttar pradesh government