Police chief begins damage control

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, OCT. 16. In a delayed action, Delhi's Police Commissioner, Mr. Ajai Raj Sharma today ordered removal of three senior police officers, including an Assistant Commissioner of Police, for their mishandling of the Seelampur incident last Thursday.

Further, the investigation of the case, along with a similar case in Sadar Bazar and that dealing with the bizarre death of two young lovers inside the Mongolpuri police station were transferred to the Crime Branch. The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, Mr. P.K. Srivastav, has been directed personally to look into the Mongolpuri case in which the lovers committed suicide by consuming poison.

The three officers, posted at North-East Delhi who have been removed, are the Seelampur ACP, Mr. D.R. Birdi, and the Station House officers of Usmanpur and Seelampur police stations, Inspectors Niranjan Singh and Hukum Chand Rana.

Seelampur and adjoining areas turned violent following the death of Irshad (25) who was beaten by four policemen on Thursday afternoon. Irshad was returning home on his scooter with his four-year-old son, Danis, when the incident occurred. Sporadic incidents of rioting had been reported following the death and large contingents of policemen had to be deployed to control the situation.

The Police Commissioner said while the death was a result of police brutality, it was definitely not a case of custodial death. He shrugged off any communal angle saying it was a mishap which was avoidable.

He, however, added that a policeman, Swatantra Kumar, was seriously injured after he became the target of public wrath following the incident. He was first admitted to GTB Hospital and later shifted to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences after his condition deteriorated. His condition had since then stabilised, Mr. Sharma said. The fact that a policeman was injured also meant there had been violence from both sides. But it was unfair that this had not been reported.

Speaking about the Sadar Bazar case, where a trader was similarly totally assaulted by four policemen, the Police Commissioner said all four were suspended soon after. While the police were awaiting the report of the Additional District Magistrate, a case of murder had been straightaway registered.

A number of questions need to be answered in the Mongolpuri case, he said. The negligence aspect will be thoroughly probed.

The Police Commissioner said it has now been established that the duo had been called to the police station for routine questioning under relevant sections of the Criminal Procedure Act. It was also apparent that they had decided to commit suicide. The fact, however, that the policemen present did not pay need to the girl's claim that she had decided to end her life, after the youth did, will be investigated.

Meanwhile, members of the National Human Rights Commission today met Mr. Sharma at the Police Headquarters to discuss the three cases and the rising crime graph in the city.

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