HC asks police to reply to plea for action against erring cops

NEW DELHI: A police informer, who along with another man were recently acquitted of terror charges after facing trial for 11 years, has sought departmental probe against those police officers who had allegedly framed them, with Delhi High Court directing the city police to respond to his plea.

Irshad Ali, who moved the plea in the high court, and Maurif Qamar were acquitted of terror charges after 11 years by a trial court on January 6. In its closure report filed on November 11, 2008, CBI had concluded that the duo were IB and Special Cell informers and had been falsely implicated. In 2009, they were released on bail.

Justice A K Pathak issued show cause notice to Delhi Police and its officers of Special Cell and asked them to file affidavit in four weeks on Ali's plea. The court fixed the matter for further hearing on May 5. Ali moved the high court seeking departmental enquiry under the supervision of the Police Commissioner against the "erring police officials" who had framed him in the case.

The petitioner, who had spent four years in jail and faced trial for 11 years in the case, has filed a separate plea seeking direction to CBI to "re-investigate" the case, which the agency had probed on the directions of high court. After probing the matter, CBI had filed a closure report in 2008 saying that the terror charges levelled against Ali and Qamar by the Delhi Police's Special Cell were false and had sought their discharge.

CBI had said that Ali was an informer of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Special Cell and had sought action against erring police officials. PTI