RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh government has decided to institute a judicial probe into the killing of BJP MLA Bheema Mandavi and four policemen in a powerful IED blast triggered by the Maoists in strife-torn Dantewada district, south Bastar, on April 9.
The state government has sought permission from the Election Commission (EC). The secretary (General Administration Department) Rita Shandilya has sent a letter in this context to the office of the chief electoral officer (CEO) in Raipur.
The CEO Subrat Sahoo has forwarded the state government's plea to the Central Election Commission seeking the consent.
“We will wait for the approval of the EC to constitute a judicial probe into the incident,” the chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said.
The opposition BJP calling the Maoist attack, just couple of days ahead of the polling in Bastar Lok Sabha seat, as a political conspiracy and has demanded a CBI investigation into it.
The Naxals issuing the statement last Friday, took responsibility for the assassination of Mandavi calling the killing a retaliation to avenge the deaths of their senior cadres at the hands of security forces in Dantewada, the assembly segment represented by the slain BJP MLA.