Patna protest: PIL filed in SC seeking CBI or SIT probe into BJP leader’s death

New Delhi [India], July 15 : A petition was filed on Saturday in the Supreme Court seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry or constitution of a Special Investigating Team (SIT) headed by a retired apex court judge into the death of a BJP leader from Jehanabad during the party’s protest march against the Bihar government’s teacher recruitment policy on July 13 in Patna.
A BJP leader from Jehanabad died, allegedly during police lathi charge, while participating in a protest march by his party against the Bihar government’s teacher recruitment policy doing away with the domicile requirement for the recruitment of teachers.
The PIL filed by Bhupesh Narayan through advocate Barun Sinha sought Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation into the offence which occurred on July 13 March, which started from Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
BJP’s Jehanabad district general secretary Vijay Kumar Singh died during the party’s protest march. Singh was found unconscious at Chhajju Bagh, barely 500 metre from the protest site.
It sought direction to the investigating agency to take over all the FIRs registered by the local police of Patna in connection with the incident.
It further sought to 'investigate the role of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, Director General of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police, District Magistrate of Patna (respondents no. 1 to 6), and any other Officers of the State government in protecting the real perpetrators of the incident during peaceful procession organised by Bhartiya Janta Party.'
A large number of teachers protested against the decision by the State cabinet to do away with the domicile clause for applicant teachers, opening up the jobs to applicants from across the country. The BJP has backed this protest and demanded to restore the domicile clause and also sought Tejashwi’s resignation after he was chargesheeted in an alleged scam.
The plea said that the misuse of power against Indian citizens is a grave breach of individual fundamental rights and threat to public safety.
Respondents are duty bound to ensure that the public is informed about the perpetrators, scale and impact of these criminal actions and breaches of fundamental rights, and measures taken to prevent such further occurrences, it added.
The petition stated, "The participation of individuals in democratic processes hinges on its fairness and integrity. If citizens are left to believe that one’s chances of successfully engaging in the democratic process are doomed from the start due to indiscriminate illegal surveillance by persons in power, including against political rivals, this will have a strong deterrent effect on public participation in democratic processes and institutions."