NEW DELHI, India—A plea seeking the prosecution of four Delhi Police officers for destroying the records and files of a 1984 Sikh genocide case, has been dismissed by a court here terming those documents were irrelevant, and their preservation was not necessary.
Additional Sessions Judge Kamini Lau rejected the plea of Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) B S Joon who had sought framing of charges of destruction of evidence, and criminal conspiracy, against the then Station House Officer (SHO) and Police Station Nangloi Inspector Rampal Singh, Sub-Inspector of Police (SI) Dalel Singh, the then Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Amarender Kumar Singh, and the then SHO R S Dahiya.
Joon, in his application, had alleged these four officials were responsible for destroying the relevant records relating to 1984 Sikh carnage of the Nangloi Police Station which they did deliberately to save the accused in the present case despite the lodging of the present First Information Report (FIR) on August 28, 1991.
In the case registered at Nangloi police station, the 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 court said all the allegations made by Joon were general, and non specific, and he has vaguely stated that photographs of the damaged / burnt house of one Gurbachan Singh, samples lifted from the spot, and entries regarding the cremation of dead bodies have been destroyed, but has not been able to inform whether the photographs were actually taken, or exhibits lifted from the spot, or details of cremation entered in the Roznamchas. “Even before the alleged destruction of entire records of police station, the Ranganath Mishra Commission had already summoned, and perused the relevant entries and records.
The court said no doubt the official record, including certificates, inquest papers, un-traced, and cancelled files were destroyed on February 5, 1992 as admitted by the Delhi Police, but it was evident that the destruction was carried out as per the provisions of Delhi Police Rules, and the Standing Orders therein, after following due procedure.
It also said the victims and the Special Investigation Cell, to whom the probe of all the cases connected with 1984 pogrom were transferred, had failed to request, and seek preservation of the relevant record and “it does not lie in their mouth to now rake up this issue after 29 years”.
