Slain Bihar scribe's kin want CBI probe despite Nitish's promise of swift action

Siwan: The family of slain journalist Rajdeo Ranjan on Sunday demanded a CBI probe into the case as it expressed apprehension about a political angle behind the murder, while BJP staged a state-wide agitation on the issue.

Ranjan's 75-year-old father Radha Chaudhary demanded a CBI investigation in the murder saying he has no faith in local police.

The family wants a CBI probe so that the culprits could be brought to justice, said Radha Chaudhary's another son Gautam.

Read: Bihar scribe murder: Nitish says guilty won't be spared

Their demand came on a day when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said he was saddened by the killing of a journalist in his state and promised swift action against the guilty.

But it seems like the family does not have faith in the government either as Ranjan's wife said there could be political reason behind his murder.

"There is indeed a political angle to my husband's murder two days ago as he did not have personal enmity with anyone. But there could also be professional reasons," Ranjan's wife Asha Devi said.

Read: Four held in connection with journalist’s death in Bihar

She demanded death sentence to the culprits and vowed to fight till her last breath to get justice. Gautam urged the state government to bear the cost of education and related needs of Ranjan's children.

"The state government should bear the cost of education and related needs of 16-year-old Ashish Ranjan and his eight year-old sister Sakshi Ranjan as his father will no more be with them to secure their future," Gautam Ranjan told PTI.

The district bureau chief of vernacular daily 'Hindustan', Ranjan was shot dead by unidentified assailants near a fruit market on Station Road here on May 13.

Meanwhile, BJP took out protest march throughout Bihar while its state unit president Mangal Pandey staged dharna in Siwan demanding arrest of the culprits and a CBI probe.