Bihar police has directed the Bhagalpur Superintendent of Police to reopen 27 cases related to 1989 communal riots in Bhagalpur for proper investigationt two days after the state government led by Nitish Kumar ordered a fresh judicial probe into the riots.
Inspector General Anil Kumar Sinha said on Sunday that Bhagalpur police was directed to initiate proceedingss to reopen 27 cases of riots.
Sinha said that police decided to reopen 27 cases after it found in the preliminary investigation that despite solid evidence against the accused in the police complaints they were let off.
It appears that investigation into these cases were not carried out properly. The responsibility of the erring policemen would be fixed and suitable action would be taken against them for their lapses, he said.
He hinted that a special police team may be set up to investigate the cases on priority basis after obtaining the permission of the respective courts.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Friday in a cabinet meeting ordered reinvestigation into the 1989 Bhagalpur riots to punish guilty and give justice to victims.
The riots cases will be reinvestigated by a sitting or a retired Patna High Court judge. The panel has been asked to submit the report within six months.
Officials said that by ordering a judicial probe the chief minister Nitish Kumar fulfilled its promise made during the 2005 state assembly campaign to order a fresh probe into cases related to the Bhagalpur riots that were closed by for want of evidence. In the riots over 1000 people were killed.
Some of those responsible for the violence were convicted, but most of the guilty are still at large.
In January the state government had decided to bring a white paper on the riots and formed a committee that will look into different aspects of the violence. The white paper will focus on compensation, and trial of cases.
