July 14: In a petition filed in the Bombay High Court, Dada Samant, brother of the slain trade union leader Datta Samant, pleaded the court to order a probe by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) into the daylight murder.The division bench of Justice V P Tipnis and A B Palkar heard the petition. However, they have scheduled the next hearing on its admission to July 21. The court meanwhile asked the state government to file an affidavit on the progress of the investigation into the murder.

According to Samant's petition, there are many grey areas in the investigation of the murder. Besides, the brain and financier of the daylight murder has not yet been revealed, the petition said.

Therefore, there is need for a change of investigating agency from the State CID to the CBI, Samant stated. He has prayed for CBI's intervention in the actual investigation of the crime registered by Sakinaka police and its report on the progress of the investigation.

The petition states that earlier statements of police regarding involvement of industrialists and subsequent police denial gives reasonable doubt for further probe. The chargesheet and accompanying summary shows that the accused were hirelings with close links with industrialists. But, these links were never brought on investigation record, Dada Samant alleged. He said the probe has not dealt with the possibility of a middleman between the hirelings and the industrial house for the commission of the murder.

Samant's petition mentions two phone calls received by the PAL-Puegot company in which a rival union member had commented, ``Good riddance to bad rubbish.'' A probe into this comment would have given a clue to the murderer, it added.

Advocate Nitin Pradhan and Shubhada Khot appeared for Samant and V T Tulpule represented the government.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.