Pratapgarh:
Taking its probe to the doorsteps of former Uttar Pradesh minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today questioned his cousin and Member of State Legislative Council Akshay Pratap Singh in connection with the violence in Balipur village in which DSP Zia-ul-Haque was killed.
CBI sources said Mr Singh was questioned in detail about his whereabouts on the day of incident in which village head Nanhe Yadav, his brother Suresh and Mr Haque were allegedly murdered during violence arising over a land dispute on March 2.
They said the agency might also question Raja Bhaiya as some suspects are known to be close aides of the influential leader.
The CBI has registered four cases pertaining to three murders in Balipur village on March 2 and booked Raja Bhaiya in one of them on the complaint of Mr Haque's wife Parveen Azad. Raja Bhaiya had to resign from the Akhilesh Yadav government following allegations by the policeman's wife that he was responsible for her husband's murder.
Recently, the agency has recovered a blood-stained wooden rod and ammunition belt with six live cartridges from various places here during its ongoing probe into the murder of Deputy Superintendent of Police Zia-ul-Haq and the two others.
The blood-stained ammunition belt was recovered from a box concealed in a house of Suresh Yadav, who was gunned down along with his brother and village pradhan Nanhe, official sources said.
The wooden rod, which too had blood stains on it, was recovered from another area in the village at the instance of local police officials who were being questioned by the CBI in the case, the sources said.