Cops to file extra charge sheet by Oct 15, court told
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Wednesday informed a local court that it is likely to file a supplementary charge sheet by October 15 in the alleged gang rape and murder of a nine-yearold Dalit girl at a crematorium near Delhi Cantonment on August 1.
The investigating officer (IO) in the case informed additional sessions judge Ashutosh Kumar that forensic reports were likely to arrive by October 15 upon which the supplementary charge sheet will be filed. The judge directed the director of Rohini FSL (forensic science laboratory) to expedite the process and posted the matter for hearing on October 21.
The girl who lived in a nearby village was found dead by her parents at the crematorium, triggering protests by activists and politicians in the Capital.
Police filed a charge sheet on August 28, formally accusing four people—radhey Shyam (a priest who worked at the crematorium), Kuldeep Singh, Salim Ahmed and Laxmi Narayan—for rape, wrongful confinement, murder, destruction of evidence under Indian Penal Code sections, and under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989.
The judge took cognisance of the charge sheet on September 9 and asked the accused to appear before it on September 29.
On Wednesday, they were produced through video conferencing from jail where they are incarcerated pending trial. The victim’s parents were present in the courtroom with their counsel from the Delhi State Legal Services Authority.
During the proceedings, the judge was informed that the previous IO Richhpal Singh has been replaced by Mayank Bansal, who was also present in the court.
Meanwhile, the court sought the IO’S reply on an application by Radhey Shyam through his counsel LK Verma, seeking the preservation of CCTV footage of the crime scene on the day of the incident and the day after— August 1 and 2 — saying that it would add to a fair trial.
The accused had also applied for protection, claiming that they faced a threat to life in prison and were beaten up in a police van while being brought to court. The court dismissed it after the jail authorities submitted that they were completely safe in prison.
“It is not possible to provide a separate van for their court production. However, directions have been given to all the officials to ensure their safety during court production and in jail,” the judge said.
During the hearing, Laxmi Narayan’s counsel claimed that a case of murder was not made out against his client and there was a delay of 10 hours in the registration of the FIR. He also said that the girl was cremated only after her mother had given her consent and signed the crematorium register.
However, the judge said that they should wait for the FSL reports. He also said that there were extra-judicial confessions and even the victim’s mother had said that all the accused together burnt her daughter.
Police said in their chargesheet that Radhey Shyam and Kuldeep Singh made extra-judicial confessions to two witnesses when the public had barged into the Shamshan Ghat, nabbed the accused, asked them questions about the pyre on which the girl was allegedly cremated.
“How can you say it now that such a case is not made out against the accused? There are extra-judicial confessions. An extra-judicial confession is admissible although it is a weak piece of evidence,” the court said. The police earlier told the court that the girl died due to “suffocation” while she was being sexually assaulted, but the accused tried to dress up the crime scene to show that she died of electrocution while fetching water from a cooler. For this, they even threw water on the body. The court will now hear arguments on the framing of charges against the accused on October 21.