The Supreme Court bench led by CJI N V Ramanna asked Uttar Pradesh government to reconstitute SIT (Special Investigation Team) for Lakhimpur Kheri case by including three senior IPS officers on Wednesday. Supreme court also appointed former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain to monitor the ongoing probe into the incident of death and violence that took place in Lakhimpur Kheri on October 3.
“In spite of their perceived commitment and sincerity in carrying out the investigation, there may still be a lurking suspicion in respect of the fairness and independence of such an investigation,” the judges said. These changes have been done to ensure the impartial, unbiased and transparent investigation.
Officers who are selected for the SIT are SB Shirodkar, Deepinder Singh and Padmaja Chauhan. SB Shirodkar is 1993 batch IPS Officer from Uttar Pradesh Cadre. He has served as ADG Intelligence UP. Ms Padmaja Chauhan is 1998 batch IPS Officer from UP Cadre and she has served as IG UP Police Promotion and Recruitment board, Lucknow.
Justice Jain began his career as an advocate with the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana in May 1982 and initially practiced at the district court of Hisar. On December 5, 2007, he was elevated as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court and served there until his retirement on September 30, 2020, Indian Express has reported.
On October 3, at Lakhimpur Kheri, eight people were killed after a convoy of vehicles allegedly carrying Union of Minister of State for Home Affairs’ son, Ashish Mishra, allegedly ran over protesting farmers, killing four. Ashish Mishra being the prime accused arrested on October 9 along with 12 other people.
