Delhi shootout: Congress' no to judicial probe annoys Samajwadi

New Delhi, Oct 21 (IANS) The Samajwadi Party Tuesday said it was firm on its demand of judicial probe into the Jamia Nagar shootout, in which two suspected terrorists were gunned down Sep 19 and a police inspector also killed.

The Samajwadi reiteration comes a day after Congress ruled out the demand.

'The Samajwadi Party has a firm stand on the issue of judicial probe. This demand is to reveal the truth,' said Dharmendra Yadav, an MP and nephew of the party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

'It is very difficult to understand what problem the Congress has in holding the enquiry,' Yadav said.

On Monday Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natarajan had ruled out the enquiry into the shootout in L-18 apartment of Batla House in Jamia Nagar locality of south Delhi, in which the police claimed to have killed two Indian Mujahideen suspects. The shootout occurred days after the serial blasts in Delhi.

'We are not going for a judicial enquiry. The police have done their duty admirably. Whatever doubts might be in the mind of (some) people, must be answered by the authorities concerned,' Natarajan told reporters.

Said Shafiqur Rahman Barq, another Samajwadi MP: 'It is difficult to understand why the Congress is adamant on not holding a judicial enquiry in the controversial shootout.'

'We supported the Congress in the crucial trust vote, (but) we have not submitted our conscience. Truth should be revealed,' said Kamaal Akhter, Rajya Sabha MP of the same party.