Nayagarh firing: BJP seeks probe

BHUBANESWAR: The BJP on Saturday demanded judicial probe into the police firing in Nayagarh district on Thursday that killed one person even as a Crime Branch team visited Chandapur village, where four members of a family were killed on September 6 igniting public protest.
Senior BJP leader Biswa Bhushan Harichandan said the government must order an impartial judicial probe into the killing of an innocent person by police."Investigation by the Crime Branch or revenue divisional commissioner can't unravel truth," he told the media here.
Harichandan demanded Rs 10 lakh compensation to the next of kin of the deceased and sought chief minister Naveen Patnaik's resignation "if he is unable to maintain law and order in the state and take action against the culprits."
BJP's insistence for judicial probe comes a day after Congress made a similar demand. "The government must order probe by a high court judge into the incident," Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Jayadev Jena told the media on Thursday.
BJD dismissed the opposition demands. "The government had already ordered an administrative probe into killing of the youth in firing besides probe by the Crime Branch into murders of four persons of a family which sparked tension," said BJD spokesperson Amar Satapathy. "Seeking chief minister's resignation on such matter is uncalled for. BJP is in habit of doing so," he said.
A Crime Branch team led by a DSP-level officer camped in Chandapur to probe into the four murders, which had resulted in the massive protest. The CB team interrogated several persons in this connection, the CB sources said.
A youth was killed when police opened fire at a mob who were protesting against police inaction in arresting the murder accused. The government has asked RDC (central range) to submit a report into the circumstances leading to the firing within a month.
Manoranjan Mohanty, who was appointed SP of Nayagarh in wake of the incident, said he would join in a day or two.