NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh here on Monday joined other politicians in demanding that the investigations into the gruesome murder of a dozen or more children and teenage girls in Sector 31 of Noida be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Reiterated

Speaking to reporters at a lunch hosted by BJP MP Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on the occasion of Id-ul-Adha, Mr. Singh said the series of murders were "one of the gravest incidents of heinous crime uncovered recently." The demand for a CBI inquiry was made earlier by his party's State unit chief in Uttar Pradesh, Kesrinath Tripathi. The party had already demanded that the State be placed under President's Rule ahead of the Assembly elections. Free and fair elections may not be possible with Mulayam Singh Yadav as Chief Minister, it had reasoned.

Mr. Singh said the serial killings had once again focussed attention on the `law and order problem' in the State. One of the main issues in the polls would be the `sense of uncertainty and insecurity' felt by the people.

A few days earlier, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati visited the village near the area where most families of the murdered children live. On the question of some members of the BJP's National Council not having attended the recent party conclave in Lucknow, Mr. Singh confirmed that letters asking them to explain their absence have been issued.

Some former Bollywood stars, now BJP members, failed to attend the party conclave. Among them were Shatrughan Sinha, Vinod Khanna and Hema Malini, all MPs.

A party leader said that the letters were meant to convey the view that the MPs had to take the party seriously even if they had a "star" status.

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