HC dismisses petition asking CBI probe into Sangli-Miraj riots

The Bombay High Court today dismissed a petition seeking CBI probe into the 2009 communal riots in Sangli-Miraj area of western Maharashtra.
The division bench of Justices V M Kanade and P D Kode dubbed the petition as politically motivated, and asked the petitioner Ashish Kori, vice president of MNS's Sangli unit, to deposit Rs ten lakh with the court to establish his bonafides.
The judges also questioned the delay in the filing of the petition, which came three years after the communal clashes.
Petitioner's lawyer Ashish Mehta said his client was a 20-year-old student, and the petition wasn't politically motivated.

Kori had alleged that police investigation was not fair and transparent as it was influenced by Home Minister R R Patil and his cabinet colleague Jayant Patil, both from Sangli, both NCP leaders.
Although the petition had been filed in February 2013, it came up for hearing for the first time today.
Advocate Mehta told reporters later that he would challenge the dismissal before the Supreme Court.
Communal riots broke out in Sangli and Miraj towns of Sangli district just after the Ganpati festival in October 2009. There was damage to the property, but no one was killed.