The Supreme Court is likely to hear on Thursday a plea by Dangwimsai Pul -- the widow of former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul -- for a probe into allegations he made in his 'suicide note' on August 9 last year.
Dangwimsai's letter addressed to Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar has been treated as a petition and listed for hearing by a bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit.
Dangwimsai, the first wife of Pul, expressed happiness over the development. She said she came to know about it through media reports on Wednesday.
"I am yet to receive a copy of the CJI's response. But I am hopeful the probe will be started now. This is only the first step. I hope justice will be done to us," said Dangwimsai, who is camping in New Delhi with her son.
"I heard the CJI has ordered for the FIR and probe into the suicide note found near his (Pul's) body. I am eagerly awaiting the letter from the CJI," she said.
Dangwimsai is seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into allegations levelled by late Pul in the suicide note. She alleged that the state government did not probe the death properly, despite an FIR by the family.
The Arunachal Police had found a 60-page letter written by Kalikho Pul near his body. Titled 'Mere Vichar' (my views), the letter mentioned several alleged "deliberate irregularities" by state leaders, some bureaucrats and a few judges over the years.
The suicide note in Hindi mentions the names of several Congress politicians, both at the Centre and in Arunachal Pradesh, along with some Supreme Court judges, including ex-Chief Justices of India H.L. Dattu and the late Altamas Kabir.
Pul became the Chief Minister on February 19, 2016, after he along with 29 (19 Congress and 11 Bharatiya Janata Party) MLAs defected to the People's Party of Arunachal Pradesh (PPA) -- a state outfit -- to form a new government, bringing down the then Congress government led by Chief Minister Nabam Tuki.
However, the Supreme Court reinstated the Tuki government on July 13, 2016, following which Pul and his supporters returned to the Congress and supported Pema Khandu as the Chief Minister.
According to reports, Justice Khehar responded to Dangwimsai's letter and passed an order on the administrative side. Justice Khehar directed the court Registry to have the order delivered to her in sealed envelope.
The former Chief Minister was found hanging in a bedroom of his official residence in posh Niti Vihar area in state capital Itanagar on August 9.
--IANS
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