Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday demanded a CBI investigation into the murder of a BJP worker in Dhenkanal district of Odisha.
After meeting the bereaved family of deceased Salman Rout, who was gunned down by an Odisha State Armed Police trooper, Pradhan said an impartial probe cannot be expected from the Crime Branch when a state Minister is suspected to have been involved in the case.
He said the accused is a strong supporter of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD).
"If the state government is really interested in a fair inquiry, it should hand over the probe to CBI immediately... If the police probe is not done impartially, political agitation will be launched all across the state," said the Minister.
The State Election Commission (SEC) on Tuesday recommended to the state government that a Crime Branch probe should be initiated into the incident.
Notably, the BJP worker of Tarabha village in Dhenkanal district was allegedly shot on Saturday night by an OSAP trooper posted in Keonjhar. The accused was later arrested by the police.
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--IANS
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