Rajasthan riots: Congress, BJP MLAs named in CBI charge-sheet

The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a supplementary charge-sheet against 17 persons including a Congress Member of Legislative Assembly and a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA in connection with the communal violence in Gopalgarh in 2009 which claimed ten lives.

The two legislators -- Zahida Khan of Congress from Kaman constituency and Anita Singh of BJP from Deeg -- were among the 12 people charged under both non-cognisable and bailable offences for creating hindrance in government work.

In the charge-sheet filed on Monday in a special CBI court in Jaipur, one person was charged for murder while four others were charged for attempt to murder and other offences.

The CBI, however, did not implicate the then superintendent of police Hinglaz Dan and the then district magistrate, Krishna Kunal, who were also accused in the case.

In the charge-sheet, Khan and Singh have been charged under Section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) to be read with Section 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

During its probe, the CBI had gone through an FIR in which two persons, Nooruddhin and Ali Hussain, who lost their kin, had implicated local police, administrative officers and members of a community of criminal conspiracy and murder.

"It was found in the investigation that when the situation was getting out of control on September 14, 2011 the police burst teargas shells," said the charge-sheet.

The charge-sheet further said members of a community opened fire on government servants to create hindrances for them while they were discharging their duties.

Ten persons were killed in police firing due to communal tensions in Gopalgarh in 2009.

On March 6, 2012, the CBI had filed a charge-sheet against 15 persons who were charged with murder and other similar offences.