DEAD FARMER’S FAMILY MOVES HC FOR COURT MONITORED SIT INVESTIGATION

NEW DELHI: The family of a 25-year-old man, who died after his tractor overturned at Central Delhi’s ITO during the protesting farmers’ tractor parade on the Republic Day, moved the Delhi high court on Wednesday seeking a court-monitored SIT probe into the incident.

The petition, which is likely to be listed for hearing on Thursday, is filed by deceased Navreet Singh’s grandfather who has sought enforcement of his right to fair investigation and justice as well as the right to know the truth about his grandson’s death.

According to the police, the man had died as his tractor overturned at ITO where many farmers participating in the parade had reached from the Ghazipur border after taking a detour from the pre-agreed route for the march.

The police had claimed that the man was driving the tractor and he came under the vehicle as it overturned.

However, the petition said that as per eye-witness accounts reported in the media, Navreet was driving his tractor past the Andhra Education Society in New Delhi, and he was allegedly shot by policemen, due to which he lost control of his tractor which thereafter collided with some barricades and overturned.

The plea, filed through advocates Vrinda Grover, Soutik Banerjee, Mannat Tipnis and Devika Tulsiani, sought for a court appointed and court monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising police officers with a demonstrably impeccable record of professional integrity, honesty and efficiency, to carry out time bound investigation into the death of the petitioner Hardeep Singh’s grandson Navreet Singh.

It also sought a direction that the SIT shall file periodic status reports before the court to ensure a time bound court monitored investigation.

MUMBAI: ARG Outlier Media,the company that runs all Republic TV channels, has told the Bombay high court that the Mumbai police’s charge sheet in the fake TRP scam did not disclose any evidence against Republic TV and its editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, who is an accused in the case.

In a rejoinder affidavit filed on Tuesday in the high court to counter the police’s charge sheet, the company said the police had “falsely implicated” its employees in the case.

It said the entire case against its channels and employees arose out of an “unparalleled political vendetta” and a “deeply malicious witch hunt”.

The company also said its employees had been targeted for the “fearless news reporting” done by the Republic TV on the Maharashtra police’s investigation into the case of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death and Palghar lynching incident of last year.

Rajput was found hanging at his home in Mumbai’s Bandra area in June last year.

The ARG Outlier Media in its affidavit said Hansa Research Group, the original complainant in the case, had not named the Republic TV or its employees in its complaints.

The company further said the Mumbai police’s crime branch too had not found any evidence against its channels or employees, and yet, the police named its channels and their employees, including their top management, as accused and suspects in its charge sheet.

“The chargesheet though voluminous in weight is negligible in evidence against petitioners,” the affidavit said, adding “there is not a single shred of evidence of wrongdoing in the charge sheet”.