Friday, February 24 2006 18:14 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: The Bihar Government today(Feb 24,2006) decided to institute a judicial probe into the 1989 communal riots in Bhagalpur which claimed over 1,000 lives.

A decision to this effect was taken at a special meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

"The Chief Minister will write to the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court to nominate a sitting or a retired judge of the court to go into the matter," Cabinet Secretary S S Sharma told reporters.

The commission will go into how a large number of accused in cases of communal riots managed to escape conviction and suggest a rehabilitation package for the riot victims, Sharma said.

"The commission of inquiry will also probe the role of prosecuting and investigating authorities' lapse which resulted in the accused going scot-free," the Cabinet Secretary said.

He said that the commission would be asked to submit its report within six months of its inception. However, if the commission deemed it fit, it could submit an interim report.