Supreme Court declines to hear Bhatta-Parsaul probe plea (Lead)

May 30th, 2011 - 8:26 pm ICT by IANS  

New Delhi, May 30 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday declined to hear a petition seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged police atrocities on farmers of Bhatta-Parsaul village in Uttar Pradesh during protests against land acquisition earlier this month.

The apex court bench of Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice C.K. Prasad told the petitioners that they should approach the Allahabad High Court as it was already hearing the matter.

The eight petitioners are from the villages in Gautam Budh Nagar district affected by alleged violence by the police earlier this month.

“It is appropriate that once the high court has taken cognizance of the matter and issued notice, this matter too should be heard by them,” Justice Singhvi said.

The court also said that “the NHRC (National Human Rights Commission), the NCW (National Commission for Women) and the National Commission for SC/ST were also looking into the matter and we should wait for the outcome of the probe.”

Appearing for the petitioners, senior counsel U.U. Lalit said the land, which was acquired earlier for the Yamuna Expressway at low prices, was being sold to private developers at prices many times more than what farmers had received as compensation.

Most of these were fertile agriculture lands and their acquisition has affected the livelihood of the farmers, he argued.

The petitioners said that they were moving the apex court in the wake of the series of “grossly violent act of kidnapping, murder, torture, harassment and mutilation perpetrated under the guise of maintaining law and order by the state authorities”.

In the six prayers, the petitioners had sought investigation by the CBI or special investigation team into the police assault.

The violent clashes between the police and the farmers, who had held government employees as hostages, in Bhatta-Parsaul May 6 claimed four lives.

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