CB-CID to probe Joshi house arson; she demands CBI inquiry

Lucknow/New Delhi, July 19 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh
government Sunday announced a Crime Branch-CID inquiry into
the arson at Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) chief
Rita Bahuguna Joshi's Lucknow home following her derogatory
remarks against Chief Minister Mayawati but the Congress
leader demanded a CBI probe.

Joshi's demand was backed by the Congress whose general
secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh Digvijay Singh said the
UP police could not be trusted in the matter. Her house was
vandalised and set on fire on July 15.

"To avoid any controversy and ensure an unbiased inquiry
into the incident, the government has decided to transfer the
probe to the CB-CID," Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh
told reporters in Lucknow.

Joshi, who is charged with making derogatory remarks
against the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo, alleged that
the arson was a "state-sponsored crime" and demanded a Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry saying she has no hope
of getting justice from the Mayawati government.

Congress's UP unit said the Criminal Investigation
Department (CID) probe was an "eye-wash"

Joshi, who is due to meet Congress president Sonia
Gandhi, apologised for her remarks and claimed that she had
been "a bit misunderstood". She is currently on interim bail.

"I am sorry for what I said. My issue was right and it is
a debatable one, The UP governent is insensitive. they do not
care for the women," she said in New Delhi.

The Congress leader said the comments were "an emotional
outburst of an woman activist". At the same time, she said "I
will not defend myself on that second sentence (with regard to
Mayawati). I withdraw it."

"I was embarassed for that seven-second line that I made
during a seven-minute speech but the intention was not to
demean any individual forget about a caste," she said, adding
charges against here were disproportionate and illegal. PTI
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