Delhi court pulls up police for treating 'murder' as accident, orders action against officers

New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) A court here has pulled up the Delhi Police for allegedly treating a case of "brutal and deliberate murder" as a road accident and directed the police commissioner to initiate disciplinary action against the officials responsible for serious lapses in the probe. Judicial Magistrate First Class Bharti Beniwal was hearing a plea seeking monitoring of the investigation into the death of Chandresh alias Monu, who succumbed to injuries after remaining hospitalised for 22 days. The judicial magistrate said that the case raised a "disturbing question" as to how allegations of a deliberate murder were sought to be converted into an accidental narrative by the police. In an order dated June 29, the court said, "Such a lapse is bound to have a serious adverse impact on the prosecution's case during trial. This is not a mere procedural irregularity but a fundamental defect that goes to the very root of the matter and warrants appropriate departmental action against the erring officials." According to the complaint, the victim had named Nagender as his assailant and alleged that he was assaulted and run over by a vehicle in an attempt to kill him. His family also submitted a video in which the injured man allegedly identified the accused. The case was registered in the Shahbad Diary police station against the accused. The court said it was difficult to understand why the FIR was initially registered under provisions relating to rash and negligent driving despite specific allegations of assault and attempted murder. It noted there was no material in the complaint suggesting the incident was a mere accident. "Such independent scrutiny is necessary to ensure that corrective action is taken at the appropriate stage itself, rather than allowing the matter to be escalated to the commissioner of police without meaningful evaluation at intermediary supervisory levels," the magistrate said. The magistrate found multiple deficiencies in the investigation, including failure to properly examine medical evidence, preserve the crime scene, collect crucial forensic evidence and consider the victim's recorded statement, which prima facie bore the character of a dying declaration. "The record discloses a grave lapse on the part of the IO (investigation officer) and the SHO (station house officer) in conducting a prompt and effective investigation. As a result, vital material evidence, which was available at the initial stage, has not been properly collected and preserved and now stands irretrievably lost," the court said. The court also noted that an existing forensic opinion indicating an assault was ignored in the supervisory report. Holding that vital evidence had been lost due to investigative lapses, the court directed the police commissioner to examine the matter personally and take appropriate disciplinary action against the IO, SHO and other responsible officers. It also sought a compliance report and listed the matter for July 13. PTI SKM SKM KSS KSS