SC to hear PIL seeking probe by retd judge or CBI into death of Bihar BJP leader today

In his petition, Bhupesh Narayan has sought an investigation into the July 13 incident by either a retired apex court judge or the CBI.

Patna: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a PIL requesting investigation by a retired judge or the CBI into the death of a BJP leader on July 13 during a protest rally, on Tuesday.

The petition has been filed in the apex court by a resident of Bihar, Bhupesh Narayan. He alleged that the state administration was protecting the culprits and sought a probe into the roles of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, his deputy Tejashwi Yadav and officials namely the state police chief. Also, he requested that an SIT be set up with a retired Supreme Court judge or the CBI to probe into the incident.

The PIL is set to be heard by a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta today. On July 13, BJP leader Vijay Singh from Jehanabad district had died while participating in a protest rally against the Bihar government's teacher recruitment policy. BJP claimed that he died due to a brutal lathicharge by the police. The allegation, however, was ruled out by the state government as the district administration came out with a statement saying no injury marks were found on Singh's body.

This apart, BJP MP Janardhan Sigriwal, who was among the injured in the July 13 incident, submitted a petition to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla saying that the police breached the protocols by assaulting him.

Meanwhile BJP has launched a signature campaign across the districts and block headquarters till August 9 against the police lathicharge. At the end of the campaign, they will submit the signatures to governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.