Court Pulls Up Police For Not Knowing They Were Probing 2020 Delhi Riots Case

A court came down heavily on the Delhi police for not knowing that they were investigating a case related to the February 2020 riots for months.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat made the observations on a revision petition filed by the police against a November 2020 magistrate court's order directing them to register an FIR on the complaint of one Salim.

The police moved the revision petition, saying the investigating officer (IO) of the case earlier did not state in his status report that Salim's complaint was clubbed with another FIR and was already under investigation.

Mr Rawat called the stand of the police "ludicrous and preposterous" and pulled them for not knowing from March till November 2020 that the complaint was already clubbed with another FIR and was being probed.

"This leads to a conclusion that though the case is being investigated by police, the police did not itself know that they were investigating the case and when told came to realise that they were investigating the matter, the details of which they do not know," the court observed.

The judge added, "... the DCP (Northeast) is directed to get the FIR registered within seven days from the receipt of this order under appropriate sections of law."

Salim, in his plea filed before a magistrate court, had alleged that there was an attempt on his life by certain named and unnamed people during the riots. He also claimed that his house was attacked by the miscreants.