Representative imageKochi: The CBI has said that it is ready to probe the second Marad riot and has submitted an affidavit to the High Court in this regard.
The agency was responding to a petition seeking its involvement in the case. A demand for CBI probe, raised by the previous LDF government, was rejected by the UPA government. The riot led to the deaths of nine people on May 2, 2003.
A case, registered by the police, was closed in 2008 and the convicted were punished. Out of the 138 accused, 62 were punished by the special court in Marad. Before this, a judicial commission had recommended that the conspiracy behind the crime should be unearthed. The government had constituted a single-member commission to probe the second Marad riot and Justice Thomas P. Joseph was the chair of the commission. The commission found grounds for conspiracy and suggested that financial inputs and political influences involved had to be probed in detail.
After demands arose for more probes, the High Court suggested that a combined team of the Intelligence bureau, CBI, DRI, etc. should probe the case. However, the central government did not take much interest in the proposal.
The CBI has informed the High Court that it is ready to undertake an investigation provided it is asked to do so by the High Court. The investigation agency had submitted its affidavit on the first of this month.
