M A I N   N E W S

No politician involved, says Delhi police
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 16
The Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime), Mr U.K. Katna, said today that so far the Delhi police had no evidence which suggested the involvement of any politician in the sensational murder case of Indian Express Principal Correspondent, Shivani Bhatnagar.

The Joint Commissioner was reacting to the allegations of Mrs Madhu Sharma, wife of Mr R.K. Sharma, senior Haryana cadre IPS officer wanted in connection with the case.

He said as per law the prime suspect, Mr R.K. Sharma, should surrender before the Delhi police. If he did not surrender he would be declared proclaimed offender.

BJP leaders go into tizzy
T. R. Ramachandran
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 16
The BJP leadership went into a tizzy here today with the party rallying around Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan and firmly rejecting Opposition demands for his removal from the Vajpayee government.

In a bid to stave off a serious political fallout, there were meetings at various levels in the government and in the BJP party organisation. And as expected, all guns were trained on Mrs Madhu Sharma and her fugitive husband R K Sharma.

That Mrs Sharma, wife of senior Haryana police officer, should point an accusing finger at Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and Mr Mahajan in connection with the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case, has created a piquant situation for the NDA government.

In a bid to quell any adverse fallout, BJP leaders condemned and dismissed the allegations as a vilification campaign by vested interests. The party made it clear that there was no question of Mr Mahajan stepping down as minister.

Mrs Sharma’s outburst against Mr Advani and Mr Mahajan late last night in Panchkula has compelled the saffron brigade to close ranks and arrest any serious damage to the image of the BJP. The party is already facing the ignominy of favouring the Sangh Parivar in the allotment of petrol pumps and gas and kerosene dealerships.

Acting on party advice, Mr Mahajan has decided to file a criminal defamation case against Mrs Sharma for making false allegations against him.

BJP spokesperson Arun Jaitley said the allegations were “mala fide and malicious” and made by the spouse of a suspected killer and fugitive. “These are clearly diversionary tactics at the behest of an accused against whom the Delhi police claims to have collected evidence.”

Mr Jaitley welcomed Mr Mahajan’s assertion that he was ready to face any form of investigation and insisted that there was no shread of evidence against the Union Minister.

Mr Advani and the BJP emphasised that the tactics adopted by Mrs Sharma are intended to divert the ongoing probe into the brutal killing of the journalist.

Mr Mahajan acknowledged that he knew Shivani Bhatnagar and the relationship was strictly professional between a politician and a journalist. Mr Mahajan said Mr Advani’s name should not have been dragged into the matter and that the murder was being investigated by the Delhi Police which came under the Home Ministry. In the circumstances he had nothing to do either with the Delhi police or the continuing investigations. He said he was shocked by the absurd allegations.

Minister of State for Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad said it had now become public that the officer in question had played a role in the conspiracy to murder a journalist. “That a senior police officer of the rank of IG instead of submitting himself to the legal process, a fact duly known to him in his professional capacity, has chosen to be on the run for the last so many days tells its own story about his conduct. It is indeed unfortunate that the wife of such a fugitive is being permitted to abuse her freedom of speech to level such bizarre, scandalous and concocted allegations against a senior minister like Mr Mahajan as also the Deputy Prime Minister. The utterances are rank defamatory as well. It has become imperative to help law take its own course expeditiously,” he observed.