CBI grills Raja Bhaiyya for UP cops' murder

Former Uttar Pradesh minister and independent legislator Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiyya was Wednesday grilled by the CBI over the murder of Kunda deputy superintendent of police Zia-ul-Haq and two others.

Raja Bhaiyya, an independent legislator from Kunda, was quizzed for over seven hours by the CBI on charges levelled by Haq's widow, Parveen Azad.

Parveen has accused Raja Bhaiyya of masterminding Haq's murder. He was questioned about his whereabouts at the time of the killing of Haq, Balipur village head Nanhe Yadav and his brother Suresh March 2.

He was also asked questions about certain phone calls that were made to him in the aftermath of the triple murder.

Also questioned was Hari Om Srivastava, Raja Bhaiyya's local representative, who is also an accused in the case.

They were questioned about their proximity to another accused, Sanjay Pratap Singh aka Guddu Singh.

Guddu, his brother Rajiv and Raja Bhaiyya's bodyguard Bullepal are in jail.

Following the allegations and his name surfacing in the first information report (FIR), Raja Bhaiyya was asked to resign as Food and Civil Supplies minister by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minster Akhilesh Yadav.

Several close aides of the former minister, including his legislator cousin Akshay Pratap Singh, have already been questioned by the CBI.

However, Raja Bhaiyya has denied any role in the killings.

Haq was killed in Pratapgarh after an angry mob went berserk following the murder of Balipur village head Nanhe Yadav and his brother Suresh Yadav.

The mob chased and beat up Haq even as his security guard and other local policemen left him alone to face the fury of the crowd. Haq was then shot dead.

Four cases have been registered by the CBI regarding the triple murders. The agency will file its report on the probe by May end.