Rita Joshi demands CBI probe into arson at her Lucknow house

Alleging that the ransacking and arson at her Lucknow house was a state-sponsored crime,UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi,charged with making derogatory remarks against Chief Minister Mayawati,on Sunday demanded a CBI inquiry into the incident. “I demand a CBI probe into the incident that occurred at my house in Lucknow (on the night of July 15). The party has also demanded it because it is a state-sponsored crime,” 60-year-old Joshi,who was released from jail after being granted interim bail by a Moradabad court yesterday,said here.

Claiming that “the hooligans had come not to burn my house but to kill me”,Joshi alleged,”The police burned down my house. It is for sure that this involved government hand with Mayawati’s consent”. She said he was demanding a CBI inquiry as “I have no hope of justice from the UP government.” Joshi said she would be meeting party leaders Sonia Gandhi,Rahul Gandhi and Digvijay Singh. “All I know is that the party is extremely concerned about my safety and they were extremely agitated about the law and order situation in UP.” The UP Congress leader,arrested on Wednesday night,was booked under section 153 A (delivering inflammatory speeches) and section 109 of IPC (using abusive language) besides provisions of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for making remarks allegedly defamatory to Mayawati in connection with her government’s compensation to rape victims.