Himachal Pradesh Cabinet Ministers, Jagat Singh Negi, Rohit Thakur and Anirudh Singh, accused BJP of politicising the murder of a Chamba youth.

In a joint statement issued here on Friday, they lambasted the Opposition party for allegedly playing dirty politics on the murder of the youth in Salooni Sub-division of district Chamba.

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BJP is trying to flare up the issue despite the fact that the law and order agencies were carrying out a thorough investigation into the incident and have even arrested those involved in the heinous crime, they said.

They said that the Police Department, after lodging an FIR immediately after the crime, arrested the culprits and were probing into the incident, but the Opposition was unduly trying to hinder the investigation and also violating the law and order by gathering in numbers despite section 144 imposed and trying to disturb harmony and peace.

The police have immediately arrested those involved after retrieving the body of the deceased and the government will ensure that the culprits be punished as per the law, they said, adding that the chief minister has directed for a thorough investigation without leaving any loopholes and delay.

“On the direction of chief minster a police officer of the rank of the deputy inspector general of police (DIGP) has been asked to access the situation and to prevent any untoward incident,” they said.

The ministers further said that it was the responsibility of the government to maintain law and order and the government was committed to providing justice to the family members of the deceased, but the Opposition was trying to hinder the ongoing investigations and giving a political hue to the brutal incident and indulging in cheap tactics to solve their ulterior motive.

The Opposition was paying no heed to the appeals to maintain peace and was flaring the sensitive issue, they charged.

They advised the BJP leaders to refrain from such petty politics and cooperate in the ongoing investigation and to support the state government’s efforts to normalize the situation besides playing a positive role of responsible opposition.

They also made an appeal to the people to maintain peace and live up to the values of ‘Dev Bhoomi’ and not to get instigated and lured by the misleading claims of the opposition.