Act against officers responsible for fabricating evidence: court to Delhi Police chief

A city court has directed Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golchha to initiate action against officers responsible for “serious lapses”, including evidence tampering, in the investigation into a 2020 riots case.

In its January 31 order, Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh of the Karkardooma Courts acquitted six persons — Prem Prakash, Ishu Gupta, Rajkumar, Amit, Rahul and Surendra Singh — booked for criminal conspiracy, rioting, destruction of property with explosives, among other charges, observing that the rights of the accused would not have been “bulldozed and pulverized” had the police conducted a fair probe.

In their chargesheet, the police had accused the six of being part of a mob that set fire to several shops and houses near Aziziya mosque in New Usmanpur in north-east Delhi on February 25, 2020.

The communal violence that unfolded in February 2020 left over 50 dead and several injured.

‘Tampering with impunity’

“I must observe that the audacity and impunity with which the record was tampered with reflects a complete breakdown of the supervisory mechanism because the fabricated chargesheet was forwarded by the supervisory officers, i.e. the then SHO and the ACP,” said the court. It directed the police chief to take action to “prevent the recurrence of such ignominy”.

The court called the prosecution’s case “built up” and said the eyewitness statements were “manipulated and fabricated” and tampered with.

Regarding a CCTV footage submitted by the prosecution as evidence against Mr. Prakash, the additional sessions judge stated, “When the video files in the pen drive were played, there was only a black screen… the files were blank. I fail to understand by what divine intervention the IO [Investigating Officer] of the case came to know that Prem Prakash was involved in this riot.”

“Therefore, I find that the prosecution has miserably failed to prove its case against the accused, and all the accused are acquitted of all the charges framed against them,” he added.