Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh), June 4 (IANS) A local Court in Muzaffarnagar has granted permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to facilitate witness identification of the accused in the 1994 Rampur Tiraha case.

Parvinder Singh, additional district government counsel, said on Saturday, "Recently, during a hearing, the defence counsel raised an objection, stating that the identification of the accused should not occur in front of witnesses during their testimonies. This objection was opposed by the CBI counsel. After considering the arguments put forth by both sides, the honourable judge reserved the order."

He further added, "Later, additional district and sessions judge (court No. 7) Shakti Singh rejected the application filed by the defence counsel, ruling that there is no legal barrier to witnesses identifying the accused in court based on their evidence."

The Rampur Tiraha firing case refers to police firing on unarmed Uttarakhand statehood activists at Rampur Tiraha crossing in Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh on the night of October 2, 1994.

The activists, part of the agitation for the separate state of Uttarakhand, were going to Delhi to stage a dharna, a sit-in protest at Raj Ghat on Gandhi Jayanti, the following day, when alleged unprovoked police firing in the night of October 1, 1994 led to the death of six statehood activists and some women were allegedly raped and molested in the ensuing melee.

Mulayam Singh Yadav was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh when the incident occurred.

--IANS

amita/dpb