UT police fumble again: Dadumajra murder case falls flat, nine acquitted

In yet another embarrassment to the UT police, additional district and sessions judge Preeti Sahni on Wednesday acquitted all nine persons booked for allegedly stabbing a youth to death in full public view at Dadumajara two years ago.

In yet another embarrassment to the UT police, additional district and sessions judge Preeti Sahni on Wednesday acquitted all nine persons booked for allegedly stabbing a youth to death in full public view at Dadumajara two years ago. Contradictions were found in the statement of a man listed as eyewitness, while the man termed as the complainant denied having filed any complaint.

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Those acquitted are Arjun, Bharat, Gurmeet, Sonu, Krishan, Gautam, Monty, Taranjeet and Sanjay. The police had arrested them on May 14, 2012, for the murder of 22-year-old Alok Nath. The police had claimed that on that day, Arjun had come came out of an eating joint at Dadumajra after dinner, and he accidentally brushed his shoulder against Alok and his friends, who lost their temper. Heated arguments resulted in a brawl and Alok took out a bottle and hit Arjun on his head.

At this, Arjun and his friends, who were armed with knives, baseball bats and sticks, tracked Alok outside a house at Dadumajra, and Arjun stabbed him seven times in his back. Alok succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.

Terming it a "planned murder", and acting on a complaint by Parminder Singh, a resident of Dadumajra, the police registered a case of murder.

But the case fell flat after the complainant, while testifying before the court, denied having lodged any complaint or having named anyone. He even said that he was made to sign blank papers and few papers whose contents he did not know.

As such, the prosecution failed to prove the case "beyond reasonable doubt" as the eyewitness in the case, Anil, failed to identify the accused.