Informers can’t be Samaritans: Court

THE COURT SAID THAT A PERSON HAVING SUCH A “SMART NETWORK” MAY HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCUSED

A Delhi court has questioned the integrity of secret informers, who inform police about criminals, stating that such people cannot be good Samaritan.

The court said that a person having such a “smart network” may well have been associated with accused persons at some point in time or involved in other illegal/criminal activities.

The court’s observation came while deciding a case in which an Okhla resident, Khurram, was sentenced to three years in jail for illegally possessing a countrymade pistol.

According to the prosecution, a police team nabbed Khurram, along with two others, based on a tip-off in November, 2006 from Rohini Sector 11. Police had received information that the trio were allegedly planning to rob a petrol pump near Rohini Metro station.

The court noted that the informer was not only aware of the movements of the accused persons but also able to pin point the colour and registration number of vehicles on which they were travelling.

Wondering how the informer knew all such details of the accused, the court said, “It needs to be examined as to what extent a fiction of secret information can be believed and secret informer kept behind the curtain. The one having so much of exact information about criminals needs to be inquired about his own motive in sharing it with police other than the likely incentive from so called ‘secret fund’.”

Besides sentencing, the court also imposed a fine of ₹5,000 on Khurram, who was accused of firing at the police team in an escape bid.

Two other accused, Iqbal and Abid Hasan, were declared proclaimed offenders in 2008 and 2013.

During the trial, Khurram had claimed that he was innocent and was implicated in the case.