New Delhi, May 9 (IANS) The Delhi High Court Thursday rejected two pleas seeking a CBI probe into the death of a constable who collapsed during an anti-rape protest here last year and the quashing of cases filed against eight protesters for vandalism.
Justice G.P. Mittal, pronouncing the judgment, observed that no grounds could be found for transfer of investigations from police to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Mittal also refused to quash, at this stage, the first information report (FIR) filed against eight people accused of damaging public property near India Gate during the agitation.
Advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal, on his own initiative, filed the plea seeking CBI probe into the case alleging there were contradictions in the versions of police, witnesses and doctors.
The petition seeking the dropping of the cases against the accused was filed by their counsel Somnath Bharti.
Constable Subhash Tomar died Dec 25, 2012 — two days after he collapsed on a road near India Gate while controlling anti-rape protests.
Police booked eight people – Kailash, Amit Joshi, Shantanu Kumar, Nafees, Shankar Bisht, Nand Kumar, Abhishek and Chaman Kumar – for murder and destruction of public property.
The investigators claimed Tomar was assaulted and trampled upon by the accused. However, two witnesses said that he collapsed while chasing the crowd and was not beaten or trampled by the protesters.
At a later stage, police gave a clean chit to the eight accused on Tomar’s death but maintained that they were involved in destruction of public property.
Bharti, appearing for the eight accused, demanded dropping of all charges against them.
“The manner in which the murder charge was first slapped against the youths and then dropped speaks volume about the way investigation has been conducted by police,” he said.
Additional Solicitor General Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the police, opposed the plea seeking quashing of the FIR.
Advocate Bansal’s plea seeking a CBI probe was also countered by Luthra.
“The FIR, besides the death of constable Tomar, also relates to destruction of public property, stopping public servants from performing their duties and breach of (prohibitory) order,” Luthra said.
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