Murdered NRI's daughter wants speedy investigation

British national Sipra Deb met Bharatiya Janata Party President L K Advani to seek justice for her non resident Indian father, whose body was found in Assam last week 18 months after he disappeared.

She sought Advani's intervention for speedy investigation into the case.

"The political leaders of the country, who are accountable to the nation, should ensure that the perpetrators of the crime are punished," London-based Sipra, who earlier met Home Minister Shivraj Patil, told a press conference in New Delhi.

Sipra also complained about the "highhandedness" of Indian officials and the Assamese government in dealing with the case.

"It was only 18 months after my father Protul Chandra Deb disappeared that they could find his body," she said, adding that despite her repeated requests over the past one year, the case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation only 3 months ago.

She also alleged that the state police had failed to look into the complaints lodged by her father who was being "threatened by some extremist groups and criminals".

Deb (67), an Indian national, who lived in Britian with his family for more than two decades, came to India in early 2000 to work for the tribals in his home state Assam despite opposition from his family members. He owned acres of bamboo farms and even contested the assembly elections as a Bharatiya Janata Party candidate in 2001.

Sipra came to India for the first time in March 2004 to look for her father.

Last week, the CBI recovered Deb's skeleton near jungles in Katlichera in south Assam, which was brought back to Delhi to be matched with his DNA samples and other medical records to confirm his identity. Though Sipra did not directly accuse anyone of killing her father, she mentioned that he had levelled allegations against her maternal uncle, a Congress minister of the state, in his letters written to her.

"They were political rivals but there was no enmity from my father's side. He had mentioned about him in his letters. The letters are with CBI now and it's for them to find out a link," she said.

"Though I feel cheated and anguished at the way my case has been handled, I still have hope that I will fight till the end and my father's soul would be finally able to rest in peace," Sipra added.