J&K HC directs petitioner to withdraw plea seeking CBI probe into KP sarpanch's killing

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court directed a Kashmiri Pandit on Tuesday to withdraw his petition seeking a CBI probe into the killing of a sarpanch by unidentified gunmen, as he had sought to make the lieutenant governor of the Union Territory a party to the case.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court directed a Kashmiri Pandit on Tuesday to withdraw his petition seeking a CBI probe into the killing of a sarpanch by unidentified gunmen, as he had sought to make the lieutenant governor of the Union Territory a party to the case. "I was told by the court to withdraw the instant petition as we had included the lieutenant governor as a respondent. The court said it cannot be done as the LG is the constitutional head," the petitioner, Ramesh Kumar Pandita, told PTI.

The petitioner said he had sought a CBI probe into the killing of his close friend Ajay Pandita, a sarpanch (village head) who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Anantnag district last week. "The judge told me a writ petition can only be filed by a relative or a registered organisation," he added.

Ajay Pandita, the sarpanch of Larkipora area in Anantnag district, was shot dead by the gunmen in his native village on June 8..