‘Manipulated evidence’: 3 let off in ’20 riots case | Delhi News – Times of India
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court, while discharging three men in a case relating to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, said it is suspicious that the investigating officer of the Delhi Police “manipulated evidence”.
“It is worth to mention here that this order of discharge is being passed on account of realising that the reported incidents were not properly and completely investigated and that the chargesheets were filed in predetermined, mechanical and erroneous manner, with subsequent actions to only cover up the initial wrong actions,” said additional sessions judge Pulastya Pramachala.
Statements prepared to cover up lacunae in probe, cops told
The court also referred the matter back to Delhi Police to make an assessment of the investigation to take further action “in conformity with the law and to bring the complaints to a legal and logical end”. The court, while discharging Akil Ahmad, alias Papad, Rahish Khan and Irshad, said, “…instead of having a grave suspicion against the accused persons for their involvement in the alleged incidents as reported by four complainants as well as for their involvement in the incidents as observed by ASI Surender Pal in the rukka, I am having suspicion (sic) for IO having manipulated the evidence in the case, without actually investigating the reported incidents properly.”
A case was registered at Dayalpur police station on the basis of a rukka (complaint copy) prepared by an assistant sub inspector on February 28, 2020. Later, the investigation officer clubbed several complaints made by Farooq Ahmad, Shahbaz Malik, Nadeem Farooq and Jai Shankar Sharma in the case. “If I look into the subsequent statements in the backdrop of above-mentioned developments taken place during court proceedings, then I do find it more probable that the subsequent statements based on rare kind of same coincidence taking place with four different persons (as already mentioned herein above) were artificially prepared with only objective to cover up the lacuna and mindless action of chargesheeting accused persons in this case,” the court noted.
“Therefore, when there were specific observations of ASI Surender Pal regarding criminal acts seen by him while visiting the place near Victoria Public School on 25.02.2020 after 9.50am, only those cause of action could have been taken up for investigation in this case which had connection with the incidents mentioned in the rukka. There could not have been any presumption that the mob active during intervening night of 24/25.02.2020 was the mob during reporting of information vide DD No. 14-A,” the court said.
“It is worth to mention here that this order of discharge is being passed on account of realising that the reported incidents were not properly and completely investigated and that the chargesheets were filed in predetermined, mechanical and erroneous manner, with subsequent actions to only cover up the initial wrong actions,” said additional sessions judge Pulastya Pramachala.
Statements prepared to cover up lacunae in probe, cops told
The court also referred the matter back to Delhi Police to make an assessment of the investigation to take further action “in conformity with the law and to bring the complaints to a legal and logical end”. The court, while discharging Akil Ahmad, alias Papad, Rahish Khan and Irshad, said, “…instead of having a grave suspicion against the accused persons for their involvement in the alleged incidents as reported by four complainants as well as for their involvement in the incidents as observed by ASI Surender Pal in the rukka, I am having suspicion (sic) for IO having manipulated the evidence in the case, without actually investigating the reported incidents properly.”
A case was registered at Dayalpur police station on the basis of a rukka (complaint copy) prepared by an assistant sub inspector on February 28, 2020. Later, the investigation officer clubbed several complaints made by Farooq Ahmad, Shahbaz Malik, Nadeem Farooq and Jai Shankar Sharma in the case. “If I look into the subsequent statements in the backdrop of above-mentioned developments taken place during court proceedings, then I do find it more probable that the subsequent statements based on rare kind of same coincidence taking place with four different persons (as already mentioned herein above) were artificially prepared with only objective to cover up the lacuna and mindless action of chargesheeting accused persons in this case,” the court noted.
“Therefore, when there were specific observations of ASI Surender Pal regarding criminal acts seen by him while visiting the place near Victoria Public School on 25.02.2020 after 9.50am, only those cause of action could have been taken up for investigation in this case which had connection with the incidents mentioned in the rukka. There could not have been any presumption that the mob active during intervening night of 24/25.02.2020 was the mob during reporting of information vide DD No. 14-A,” the court said.
