Delhi Police pulled up for not completing probe against cops

NEWDELHI: A city court has lashed out at Delhi Police for not completing a probe even after 33 years in a 1984 anti-Sikh riot case, saying it appeared that it had formed “a cartel to save” its officials who were allegedly involved in abetting the ghastly crime. The court also expressed unhappiness over senior police officials vetting the charge sheet in the case “mechanically” and without noticing that the probe has not been carried out for tracing co-accused police officials.

“The case is a tell-tale of a sorry state of affairs where in spite of gravity of offences, the police persistently filed halfbaked police reports. Even though commission of offences were writ large, the police continued to remain in denial,” metropolitan magistrate Shirish Aggarwal said. The court issued notice to the investigating officer, inspector RK Meena, and directed him to carry out further probe and submit the report before it.

The order came on the murder case of one Sher Singh and assault on his son in the Mangolpuri area in North-West Delhi during the 1984 riots that broke out after the assassination of then PM Indira Gandhi.

The magistrate said over three decades have rolled by since commission of the “ghastly crime” and the offenders were still at large. Even after the setting up of Justice Ranganath Misra Commission of Inquiry, the report of the Delhi administration committee to examine cases relating to riots, setting up of riots cell and SIT for investigating the 1984 riots cases, the police has not taken any action against the personnel from its own cadres who have abetted the crime, the court said, noting that as per the SIT, investigation was now complete.

“However, despite specific allegations being made on oath on an affidavit (by witness) and before the Delhi administration committee on October 4, 1991, against police officials, who had reached the spot, absolutely no efforts have been made to find out their identity.

Initially, an untraced report was filed by the police in the case. Later, the special investigating team (SIT) carried out further investigation stating that the offences were committed by an unlawful assembly of 500-700 people, including two local Congress workers, one of whom died in 2010.

The court said that despite the observation made by the Delhi administration committee and affidavit and statement of complainant Ajeet Singh, the probe carried out by police was “still incomplete” as the cops who had aided and instigated the crime have not been traced.