The Bombay Lawyers’ Association has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court appealing for an investigation into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Central Bureau of Investigation judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya in 2014, NDTV reported on Monday. The association has the court to set up a commission of inquiry that will be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge.
Loya had died when he was hearing a matter related to the allegedly staged encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh – a case in which Amit Shah, now the Bharatiya Janata Party president, was an accused. Loya’s family has raised a number of questions about his death, as reported by the Caravan on November 20.
Nearly 10 days after the Caravan published its report, the demand for an investigation into Loya’s death gathered support from many circles. Around 150 advocates of the 1,700-member Latur Bar Association, retired Bombay High Court judge BH Marlapalle and former Delhi High Court Chief Justice AP Shah have sought an inquiry.
Former Navy Chief Admiral Laxminarayan Ramdas, former BJP leader Arun Shourie, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), too, want the matter investigated.
However, on November 29, Loya’s son reportedly told the Bombay High Court that the family has no complaints or suspicions about the circumstances of his father’s death. Anuj Loya also claimed that the family had no suspicions about the integrity of the investigating agencies, and they are certain that his father died of a heart attack.
Two Bombay High Court judges – Bhushan Gavai and Sunil Shukre – who were at the hospital when Loya was declared dead in 2014, claimed there was nothing questionable or suspicious about the circumstances around his death.
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