The Hindu : Deceased servant's brother files case against Minister

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Saturday, May 31, 2003

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Deceased servant's brother files case against Minister

By Our Staff Correspondent

JAIPUR MAY 30. In a new twist to the case involving the death of a domestic servant of the Rajasthan Home Minister, Gulab Singh Shaktawat, the brother of the deceased has filed a criminal complaint in a city court here seeking registration of a case of murder and destruction of evidence against Mr. Shaktawat.

The body of Bandanlal Rawat, who was working as a domestic help at Mr. Shaktawat's official residence, was found on the rail track near Durgapura railway station here on May 22. His elder brother, Rooplal Rawat, had alleged in a complaint to the police that his body was thrown on the rail track after being shot in the head.

The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mahavir Prasad Sharma, today directed the prosecution to submit a detailed report about the action taken by police after receiving Rooplal's complaint and posted the case for further hearing on June 2. Rooplal has alleged that the in-charge of Sodala police station here had refused to register his FIR.

The complainant has sought registration of a criminal case under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of an offence) of Indian Penal Code against Mr. Shaktawat. Though the city police had earlier stated that Badanlal had committed suicide, it later annexed Rooplal's complaint with the main FIR to look into the new aspect as well.

The State Government has since recommended initiation of an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the case in view of the mysterious circumstances in which Badanlal was found dead. The incident has also sparked off a political row between the ruling Congress(I) and the Opposition BJP with the Assembly elections due to be held later this year.

The BJP -- while accusing police of a cover-up -- has demanded Mr. Shaktawat's resignation over the issue with the assertion that he should not continue in office while facing allegations. "As long as Mr. Shaktawat is the Home Minister, neither the police nor the CBI can conduct a fair inquiry,'' Gulab Chand Kataria, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said.

The complainant's lawyer, Madhoram Chaudhary, has urged the court to direct the investigating agencies to launch their probe from the Home Minister's residence and send the viscera of the deceased to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi to ascertain the cause of death.

The post-mortem of Badanlal's body was conducted twice on the demand by the next of his kin, first in Jaipur and later at his native place, Udaipur. Though police say that the autopsy did not find any bullet marks on the body, the complaint has stated that these marks were detected on Badanlal's head before the cremation.

Significantly, the Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, had decided to recommend initiation of inquiry by CBI on the request of Mr. Shaktawat himself, who felt that any investigation by a State agency would be called into question and the matter would be given a political colour in the run-up to the Assembly polls.

Badanlal was missing from the Home Minister's bungalow from May 10 to 20. He came back on May 21 and stayed overnight before he was found dead with multiple injuries on the rail track the next day. The security personnel at the Home Minister's residence were replaced after the incident.

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Deceased servant's brother files case against Minister