Raj's dad to sue Maharashtra govt, Raj Thackeray

Patna: The father of Rahul Raj, the youth shot dead by Mumbai Police after he fired indiscriminately in a city bus, on Saturday said he would file a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against the Maharashtra government and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray.

Kundan Prasad Singh is unhappy with the Maharashtra government's probe into his son's killing and angry with Thackeray for having justified the action of the police in Mumbai.

“I will file a PIL (public interest litigation) soon for justice," Singh said.

Raj, 25, was shot dead by the police Monday after he attacked the conductor of a bus and fired at a passenger with his revolver.

Before being shot dead, Raj had said that he wanted to kill MNS chief Thackeray for inciting his party workers to attack youths from Bihar who were in Mumbai for a railway recruitment examination.

Singh said Maharashtra's delay in ordering a judicial probe into the incident was frustrating.

”I fail to understand their hesitation in ordering a judicial probe into the case. It shows that the so-called encounter was fake,” he added.

Singh said his son was innocent and had nothing to do with politics.

Rahul's sisters, Puja and Priyanka, said that they had lost faith in the Maharashtra government.

“Our innocent brother was killed by Mumbai police, how can we expect justice from the Maharashtra government? We want a judicial probe by a Supreme Court judge,” Puja said.

Puja, who works in a bank, also questioned why her brother's post-mortem report had not been released five days on.

Priyanka, who is pursuing a Masters in Computer Applications, said Mumbai police had not even contacted their family.

"The Mumbai police is yet to contact us in connection with preparing a report in the case," she said.

Meanwhile the Maharashtra government has begun a high level investigation into the killing of Mumbai hijacker Rahul Raj.

Maharshtra Chief Secretary Johny Joseph visited the spot where the youth from Bihar was gunned down by the police.

The investigating team is questioning the driver, conductor and eyewitnesses at the spot. The incident happened in the backdrop of the anti-north Indian campaign by the MNS.