Pehlu case acquittal: Govt sets up SIT to inquire lapses in investigation

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Jaipur, August 17 : Facing ire from Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi and BSP supremo Mayawati for the acquittal of six people in the Pehlu Khan lynching case, the Rajasthan government has set up a special investigation team (SIT) to inquire into lapses in investigation. 

DIG Niti Deep Blaggan would lead the three-member SIT team and Amandeep Singh Kapoor had been posted as new SP in Bhiwadi of Alwar district, an official statement from the CMO said. 

The SIT probe will be monitored by the Additional Director General of Police-Crime and will have as members the SP-Crime Branch and Additional SP-Vigilance.

The SIT would also consult a senior lawyer and fix the accountability of the police and civil administration in the case, the CMO said.

The state government had announced two SPs for Alwar district in view of the higher crime rate and after the rape of a Dalit woman at Thanagazi. 

The SIT will collect evidences that were missed, and irregularities, if any, during the Pehlu Khan case probe which led to the clean chit to six accused.

The CM has asked the team to submit its report in 15 days. 

PUCL condemns court verdict

People’s Union for Civil Liberties in Rajasthan has termed the court’s verdict in the Pehlu Khan case as a “travesty of justice” saying Rajasthan Police needed to be condemned for deliberately filing a weak chargesheet.

In a statement, its functionaries, led by Kavita Srivastava, demanded that cases of criminal negligence be filed against the officials concerned.

The PUCL demanded that the prosecution immediately file an appeal in the Rajasthan High Court against the lower court judgment.