After four days of dilly-dallying and facing pressure from the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday night issued a notification to hand over the inquiry into the Nithari killings and the murder of a Meerut lecturer to the CBI.

The notification came after the Department of Personnel and Training, which governs the CBI, sent a letter to the state's home department about making a proper request for a probe by the agency in line with laid down norms.

Uttar Pradesh's Home Secretary R M Srivastava issued the notification after receiving a communication from the DoPT, said an official release.

The state government, which adopted a dilly-dallying attitude, stood exposed over the ordering of a CBI probe when the Union government vehemently denied receiving any notification after Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav announced on Friday he would hand over the matter to the agency.

The state government sent copies of the required notification to the Centre with a request that the probe into the alleged murder of lecturer Kavita Rani and 19 cases registered at Noida in connection with the serial killings in Nithari be referred to the CBI under Section 5 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, the release added.