1984 riots: Prosecutor to give details of destroyed documents

A Delhi Court hearing a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case today directed the prosecutor to give details in a week regarding the documents which allegedly have been destroyed by some police officials and also their relevance in the matter.

 

Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau also asked Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) B S Joon to give details as to which documents are missing in which riots case.

 

The court fixed February 24 for hearing final arguments on day-to-day basis in the case registered in 1991 at Nangloi Police Station with regard to the killing of four persons.

 

It also granted a week's more time to the defence counsel for filing their reply on the 10 issues of law and fact raised by the court earlier and they were supposed to file their response by today.

 

The court asked the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Legal) to re-assess at his own level the issue of security which was earlier given to Joon, apprehending threat to his life but was recently withdrawn.

 

It also disposed off the application of Joon seeking to withdraw himself from the case as the SPP, alleging that "illegal pressure" was being exercised on him by the police since the time he moved a plea in the court for prosecution of four Delhi police officials for allegedly destroying some documents related to the case in 1992.

 

The court disposed off the plea after a senior official of Delhi government placed on record a recent notification regarding fresh appointment of Joon as the SPP for the State to conduct the trial in the riots case.

 

The judge granted two weeks time to DCP (Legal) to place on record certain orders of the Delhi Police with regard to destruction of records. 

 

On the allegation of exerting pressure upon Joon by some police officers and consequent withdrawal of his security, DCP (Legal) V A Gupta clarified in the court that was not an act of vindictiveness.

 

Gupta said as per his instructions withdrawal of security of the SPP was a routine matter since after his retirement in December 2013 the security given to him was liable to be withdrawn and it was a mere coincidence that it happened during the same period when the application was filed by Joon behalf of the state.

 

Earlier, the court had directed certain senior officers of Delhi Police to place before it the statutory rules governing destruction of official records of the investigating agency after Joon sought prosecution of the then SHO Police Station Nangloi Inspector Rampal Singh, SI Dalel Singh, the then ACP Amarender Kumar Singh and the then SHO R S Dahiya.

 

The plea is still pending before the court.

 

He has alleged that these four officials were responsible for destroying the relevant records relating to the riots case in Nangloi Police Station which they did deliberately to "save" the accused in the present case despite lodging of the present FIR on August 28, 1991.

 

In the riots case registered at Nangloi Police Station, accused Satpal Gupta, Dalel Singh, Ram Pal Singh and Karan Singh are facing trial while two others, Prem Chand and Ram Niwas died during the pendency of the case.

 

The prosecutor has also sought invocation of the provision of Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC against the accused along with these four police officers.