Biker death: Magisterial enquiry may get delayed

It took eight days for a magisterial enquiry to be ordered into the death of 19-year-old Karan Pandey. And the enquiry, it seems, won’t be completed in time as the Delhi Police are not furnishing the requisite information.

It took eight days for a magisterial enquiry to be ordered into the death of 19-year-old Karan Pandey. And the enquiry, it seems, won’t be completed in time as the Delhi Police are not furnishing the requisite information.

Karan was killed in an accidental firing by a policeman on the night of July 28 when the police were trying to control a gang of stunt bikers in New Delhi district. After much criticism, the orders for a magisterial enquiry came from the L-G’s office on August 7.

New Delhi district magistrate Ameya Abhyankar said despite several reminders to the Delhi Police for furnishing preliminary information on the basis of which the enquiry could start, they have still not received it.

According to officials of the district office, they had written to the Delhi Police chief on August 10, asking him to tell all the officers to cooperate in the enquiry which is to be completed in four weeks.

“On the same day, a notice was sent to the New Delhi DCP, asking him to furnish information on 10-12 counts. Despite three reminders on August 13, 14 and 16, the police are yet to respond,” said a senior official.

The lackadaisical attitude of the police has angered Karan’s family, which is now planning to stage a demonstration outside the police headquarters.

“He was not a terrorist. Why did the police treat him in such a way? We had gone to meet the commissioner on Monday and had requested for the post-mortem report us but nothing has happened so far. Why are the police hesitant in giving the report if they have nothing to hide? We had also requested for Karan’s call details but even that has been denied,” said Manju Pandey, Karan’s mother.

However, the Delhi Police claimed the enquiry is being conducted on their request.

“The information sought by the magistrate is quite voluminous. For instance, they have asked us to provide CCTV footage of the 3-km radius of the area as well as data from the PCR, which is taking time. We are fully cooperating and have already sent the information which was easily available,” said SBS Tyagi, DCP (New Delhi).

According to sources, the New Delhi district is now planning to write to the home department and the L-G, informing them of the situation as it will now be difficult for them to complete the enquiry in time.