CBI to probe ‘conspiracy theory’ in Gopinath Munde’s death

The union home ministry on Tuesday decided to recommend a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the road accident that killed newly-appointed cabinet minister Gopinath Munde in New Delhi even before he could take charge of his rural development portfolio.

This follows a demand by the Maharashtra unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party seeking a CBI probe into conspiracy angles.

This caving-in by the central government is considered intriguing as all evidence shows that it was simply a road accident as Munde's driver used VVIP privileges to go straight through a rounabout only to be hit on the side by a middle-class Tata Indica car.

"If the CBI is allowed to go gay on this, one pities the driver of the Indica,'' said a Facebook comment. ''CBI and Indian police do not hesitate to fling charges left and right in the hope that some will stick, provided the case is big enough.''

First indications of a CBI probe came on Tuesday morning after union minister Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra BJP unit chief Devendra Fadnavis met union home minister Rajnath Singh to press for a deeper investigation into the car accident.

In a statement issued in Mumbai, Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly Eknath Khadse confirmed: "This morning, Rajnath Singh telephoned me and discussed last week's accident which claimed Munde's life and said CBI would conduct a probe into it. The union minister told me that official orders in this connection would be issued in three to four days".