Akhilesh shunts out home secretary, DGP to visit Badaun

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minsiter Akhilesh Yadav transferred Principal Secretary (Home) Anil Kumar Gupta but no reason was cited for the action against the bureaucrat, sources said Tuesday.

On the direction of the chief minister, Director General of Police A.L. Banerjee will fly to Katra Sadatganj village to meet the family of the two minors who were gang raped and murdered, sources said.

Banerjee is likely to oversee the safety and security of the family of the victims. Father of one of the rape victims has alleged that he was facing threat from some people, they said.

The transfer might be a fallout of the delay in sending a letter to the union home ministry, requesting a CBI probe into the Badaun gang rape and murder case, sources said.

Gupta, considered close to the ruling party, was removed last year from the post of industrial and infrastructure development commissioner but was brought back in administration seven months back.

Pushed to the wall over the Badaun incident, Gupta was blamed by the state government for mishandling the situation.

Opposition leaders, however, said officials like Chief Secretary Jawed Usmani and Gupta were made scapegoats to save Akhilesh Yadav.

"In case these officials are guilty, even the chief minister as the head of the state should put down his papers for failing to protect the women in Uttar Pradesh," said BJP state president Laxmikant Bajpayee.