Making the announcement on Wednesday afternoon, a government spokesperson said, “Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has recommended a CBI probe in the incident. A SIT has also been formed which is headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police, Puran Chand.”
Meanwhile, Sanped in Haryana’s Faridabad, where a Dalit family’s home was set ablaze on Wednesday erupted in grief and anger, with the locals blocking Delhi-Agra highway with their bodies in protest as politicians joined them in mourning the horrific killings. The blockade was removed only when the local administration assured of strict action against the accused. So far, 11 people have been booked and three arrested by the police.
As the the bodies of two-and-a-half-years-old Vaibhav and 11-month-old Divya, wrapped in white shrouds, arrived, the village, about 35 km from the national capital, plunged into grief.
Haryana chief minister ML Khattar was scheduled to visit Sunped village to meet the victim family but his visit was put off due to the prevailing tension in the area.
Two-and-a-half-year-old Vaibhav and 11-month-old Divya were killed in Faridabad’s Sumped village after their house was set on fire allegedly by some upper caste men. Their mother Rekha, 28, suffered serious burns and is battling for life in a Delhi hospital. Their father Jitender, 31, also received injuries while trying to save them.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi visited the village to meet the victim family and lashed out at the BJP-led Haryana government for failing to protect the Dalit family. Gandhi said, “This is an attitude shared by the prime minister, the chief minister, the BJP and the RSS - if somebody is weak, they can be crushed. This government is not for the poor.”
BSP president Mayawati also visited the village earlier in the day. Terming the attack on a Dalit family in Faridabad as most unfortunate, BSP president threatened to take to the streets over delay in arrest of the culprits.
RJD president Lalu Prasad, in a tweet, said, “I had demanded them to burn books of Guru Golwalkar which are anti-Dalit in theme…but in their rule instead Dalits are burnt alive…Dalits and backward classes.”