Twelve people, including Bahadurgarh ex-MLA Naresh Kaushik, were on Monday booked in connection with the murder of INLD state chief Nafe Singh Rathi and his aide in Bahadurgarh town on Sunday evening. No arrests have been made so far.
Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) Haryana president and two-time MLA Nafe Singh Rathi (66) and his associate, Jai Kishan of Mandhothi village, were gunned down in broad daylight by unidentified car-borne assailants near Barahi level crossing in Bahadurgarh tow
Rathi was sitting in the front seat of his SUV when the assailants waylaid the vehicle near the Barahi level crossing and opened indiscriminate firing from close range. The assailants sped away after the incident. Hearing the gunshots, a passerby informed the police.
Vij also denied the opposition's charge that the law-and-order mechanism had collapsed in the state.
"If the House is satisfied only with a CBI probe, then I assure the members that we will hand over the case to the CBI," Vij said while speaking on an adjournment motion moved by the Congress over Haryana's law-and-order situation.
Speaker Gian Chand Gupta admitted the adjournment motion as the Congress demanded a high court judge-monitored CBI probe into Rathi's killing.
Soon after the Question Hour, the Congress members raised the issue and demanded a discussion on law and order.
Rathi and an INLD worker were killed when assailants sprayed their sports utility vehicle (SUV) with bullets at Bahadurgarh, near Delhi, on Sunday.
The attack, which came with less than two months to go for the Lok Sabha polls, drew sharp reactions from the opposition parties in the BJP-ruled state.
Twelve people, including former BJP MLA Naresh Kaushik, were booked on Monday in connection with Rathi's killing, police said.
Vij told the Assembly that police are properly probing the incident, but when Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the case might involve various angles that can only be investigated by a central agency, the home minister said a CBI probe will be announced.
Congress leader Raghuvir Singh Kadian asked the speaker to allow a discussion on the adjournment motion moved by his party.
The speaker admitted the adjournment motion after which the House discussed the issue.
Kadian described Rathi's killing as the state's "first political murder" and demanded a high court judge-monitored CBI probe into the incident.His demand was backed by Hooda.
Kadian also said Rathi was not given a security cover despite the fact that he was facing threats.Vij described Rathi's killing as a very sad incident.
"I immediately directed the officials concerned to take action. I spoke to the DGP, the Jhajjar SP and the head of the STF, and directed them to catch the culprits at the earliest," he said.
Vij said the registration number of the car is being verified.
On the opposition targeting the BJP over the alleged breakdown of law and order, he said, "It is being said that the entire law-and-order system has broken down in the state, which is not true."
Those behind Rathi's killing will not be spared and exemplary punishment will be given to them, the home minister said.
Earlier, paying homage to Rathi when the House was condoling his death and that of former Lok Sabha speaker Manohar Joshi, Kadian said the INLD leader's death was not natural.
"It is a political murder and the first one in Haryana since it was carved out as a separate state (in 1966)," the Congress leader said.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar led the House in paying tributes to Rathi.
Kadian said Rathi came from a farmer family and rose to become an MLA after a lot of struggle in life.
"We demand a high court judge-monitored CBI probe into the incident," he said.
Kadian said Rathi was facing threats to his life and had sought a security cover for himself. "The question arises as to why security was not provided to Rathi," he added.
