Murder of social activist Lalit Mehta:Centre for CBI probe

Centre for CBI probe into activist's murder

Wed, Jun 11 02:20 AM

With "no substantial progress" in the investigation into the murder of social activist Lalit Mehta, the Central Government now wants the CBI to investigate the case.

Mehta, a close aide of noted National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) scheme activist and economist Jean Dreze, was found murdered in May. He was involved in the social audit of the scheme in Chatarpur block of Jharkhand's Palamau district. He was also the founder of Vikas Sahyog Kendra (VSK), an NGO that successfully supervised construction of over 110 check dams in drought-prone Palamau since 1997.

Minister of Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh on Tuesday wrote a letter to Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda 'advising' him to 'hand over' the investigation to the CBI as "no substantial progress has been reported in the investigation by the state Government so far".

"This will give the right signal of the Government's commitment to integrity, transparency and accountability and boost the confidence of vigilant social organisations in engaging with the field level implementation of NREGA and other rural development programmes," said Raghuvansh in his letter. He also asked Koda to provide compensation to Mehta's family.

The Jharkhand Government had earlier transferred the investigations to the state CID, but with the Centre expressing its "doubts", the state would now have to hand over the case to the CBI. It would be the first criminal case related to the NREG scheme to be referred to the CBI.

The Central Government has also planned to set up a toll free voice activated helpline number that would be accessible to the common man to voice their grievances on the implementation of the scheme.