'Sorry state of affairs' remarks Court hearing on north-east Delhi violence

New Delhi [India], September 28 : 'This is really a sorry state of affairs' remarked a city court while taking note of the fact that there was no progress in the investigation in a case being probed by state police in connection to north-east Delhi violence.
Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav came down heavily on Delhi Police for showing no progress in the investigation over an FIR.
The court noted the submission of police personnel, who were present in the courtroom. The police submitted that no progress in the investigation of case FIR registered at Gokalpuri police station has taken place and the persons named in the FIR have not been interrogated.
"This is really a sorry state of affairs," the court said taking account of the claim made by Delhi Police that the circumstances prevailing during the period of riots and almost four weeks thereafter were really difficult and the police could not investigate the cases properly and thereafter, Delhi was engulfed in Coronavirus pandemic and as such, the quality investigation in the matter could not take place.
"I wonder whether the police can take the same excuse qua the investigation of case FIR No.134/2021, PS Gokalpuri. The answer has to be 'clear no'," the police said.
"It has been communicated to this Court that the Worthy Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police on 19.09.2021 has issued directions vide Order No.3751-3900/Record Branch/PHQ, constituting a 'Special Investigation Cell (SIC)' to monitor the ongoing investigations in the 'riots cases'. It appears that the present case has so far not got the attention of either Worthy Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police or the SIC constituted by him," the court said.
Special Public Prosecutor was directed by the court to take instructions in the matter and communicate to it on the next date of hearing about the investigation carried on by the police in the present case.
The court renotified the matter for consideration on charge on October 22, 2021.
The FIR No.134/2021 was registered at Gokalpuri police station on June 7, 2021, i.e after a delay of about two months of passing the order by the court in this regard, the court noted.
The FIR was registered on the complaint of one Nasir Ahmed, who claimed himself as a witness to the violence in February last year. The complaint claimed that on February 24, the alleged mob put up a loud public address system and exhorted people to vandalize, rob, and put on fire the houses and shops of persons belonging to the other community and also claiming that the police were with them. Nisar Ahmed had made his first complaint about violence to the police on March 4, 2020, but no action thereupon was taken by the police. Thereafter, he moved the court with his plea seeking to register a separate FIR on his complaint, which was allowed by the court.