The Maharashtra government on Tuesday announced a judicial probe into the riots that rocked the powerloom town of Malegaon and neighbouring villages last month, which claimed 13 lives and left around 20 injured. A retired judge of Mumbai High Court would conduct an inquiry and submit his report within a period of six months, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal jointly told a post-cabinet meeting news conference in Mumbai.
The inquiry would look into the incidents that led to the riots, whether any person, group or organisation was directly or indirectly behind the incidents and whether police effectively handled the situation, Bhujbal said. The judicial panel would also probe whether the efforts by the authorities to quell incidents in other parts of Nasik district were sufficient, he said.
Deshmukh said the high-level congress delegation that visited the strife-torn Malegaon had expressed satisfaction over the handling of the riots by the administration.
Bureau Report