The Hindu : NCP leader killed, Jogi denies involvement

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 06, 2003

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NCP leader killed, Jogi denies involvement

Raipur June 5. The NCP Chhattisgarh treasurer, Ram Avtar Jaggi, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Wednesday night following which the party State unit chief, V.C. Shukla, alleged the involvement of his bete noire, the Chief Minister, Ajit Jogi, a charge denied by the latter.

``Mr. Jaggi was shot around midnight near the Mohdapara police station when he was going home. The gunmen broke the windshield of his car before fleeing on their four-wheeler,'' the senior Superintendent of Police, Mukesh Gupta, said.

Leading an NCP delegation, Mr. Shukla today met the Governor, Krishna Mohan Seth, and demanded a CBI inquiry into the killing alleging that Mr. Jogi and his son were involved in the murder.

According to him, the Governor assured the delegation that he would study the matter and take appropriate action.

Denying the charge levelled against him and his son, Mr. Jogi said that to drag a politician in a murder case was part of dirty politics.

As far as a CBI probe was concerned, the Chief Minister said he had no problem but he had full confidence that the police department would nab the culprits ``very soon''.

On Mr. Shukla's charge that Mr. Jogi had threatened Mr. Jaggi over phone of dire consequences unless he stopped working for the NCP leader, the Chief Minister said ``these are baseless allegations. He joined the party (NCP) on his own wish. Why should we threaten him?''

The Superintendent of Police said, ``on getting information about the murder, the SHO, Mohdapara, B.K. Pandey, rushed to the spot and took Mr. Jaggi, who received bullet injuries on the right side of the chest, to hospital where he was declared dead''.

Since Mr. Pandey was the first person to reach the spot, he himself filed an FIR, Mr. Gupta said.

Mr. Jaggi's son, Satish, meanwhile, in a report to police alleged that Mr. Jogi and his son were ``behind the murder,'' according to the NCP spokesman, Pramod Choubey.

Mr. Satish has demanded that his report be treated as an FIR, Mr. Choubey added.

Ram Niwas, Inspector-General, however, said that since the SHO's report was registered first, it would be the FIR and Mr. Satish's report would be attached with that. As per the rules the second report could not be accepted as an FIR.

PTI

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