RAIPUR: As many as six separate Special Investigation Teams (SIT) were constituted in the last five years to probe the murder of a BJP activist but no major headway has been made in the case so far.
Malti Bai was murdered in Baloda Bazar district, about 140 km from Raipur, in 2015. The then BJP government led by the chief minister Raman Singh had formed four SITs to inquire into it while the present Congress government set up two more SITs after coming to power.
Opposition members in the Chhattisgarh Assembly cited the inquiry as the only one of its kind in the world where six SITs were formed but nothing concrete has been achieved.
The state home minister Tamrdhwaj Sahu admitted in the House that six SITs had been formed and that the probe is still on.
The Speaker, Charan Das Mahant, said the constitution of six separate SITs for only one case was a very serious issue.
The matter was raised in the House by Congress MLA Chandradeo Rai during the question hour seeking details about the SITs.
The Speaker has asked the minister to gather information about the progress in the case and respond.
“Four SITs were formed during the BJP regime and the remaining two were constituted by us. The investigation continues in the case,” Sahu stated.
The home minister claimed that the transfer of officials was the most plausible reason behind creating so many SITs one after another.
However, BJP members raised objections, stating that owing to the transfer of officials the SITs cannot be separately constituted again and demanded that the 'terms of reference' of the SIT probe into the murder be made public.
“I will also gather information from the home minister on why six SITs were formed,” the Speaker added.