HP: BJP stage protest, demand NIA probe in Chamba murder case

PTI, Jun 17, 2023, 3:55 PM IST

BJP leaders on Saturday staged a protest at Kangra district headquarters in Himachal Pradesh, demanding a probe by the National Investigation Agency in the Chamba murder case. The protesting leaders and workers also submitted a memorandum to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla.

The opposition party has demanded the immediate arrest of the main accused and called for a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Criticising the functioning of the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led state government, the BJP leaders accused the administration of obstructing the Opposition leaders, including the Leader of Opposition (LoP) and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur, from entering Salooni town in Chamba to meet the family of a murder victim. The chopped body of Manohar, a resident of Bhandal village, was found in a drain in Bandal panchayat of Salooni on June 8, two days after he went missing. The 28-year-old was murdered over a love affair.

Police have arrested three persons, including Hussain. The others are Hussain’s wife Farida, and Shabir. Kangra BJP president Chandrabhushan Nag alleged that whenever the Congress government comes to power in the state, incidents of anarchy and hooliganism increase.

He pointed out that the Gudiya rape and murder incident took place during the previous Congress government and the recent murder in Chamba district, adding that both the cases have disturbed the peace in Devbhoomi. Nag emphasised the need for an NIA investigation, citing the suspicious background of the main accused in the Chamba episode, who possesses substantial property and faces allegations of encroachment on government land.

State BJP’s media in-charge Rakesh Sharma raised concerns over the fact that the accused in the case had not been arrested yet, questioning the intentions of the administration and the government.

He alleged that Chief Minister Sukhu himself has not visited the family of the victim.

The incident has led to communal tension in the area. Section 144 of CrPC was imposed in Salooni on Thursday after a mob burned down the house of Musafir Hussain, accused of killing the man over an affair with his niece.