Medal for Delhi cops who probed Batla House encounter, riots

Police said ACP Sandeep Lamba and inspector Gurmeet Singh, both among the medal recipients, were injured when a mob assaulted them at main Wazirabad Road in north-east Delhi on February 24, 2020.

Seven Delhi Police personnel, including an inspector who investigated the 2008 Batla House encounter, and three officers who were part of the 2020 Delhi riots investigation, have been awarded the Union home minister’s medal for excellence in investigation, Delhi police said on Thursday.

Delhi police have been criticised for their riots investigation and arresting students and activists who were part of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests. (File photo. Representative image)

Police said ACP Sandeep Lamba and inspector Gurmeet Singh, both among the medal recipients, were injured when a mob assaulted them at main Wazirabad Road in north-east Delhi on February 24, 2020. Delhi police said that this was the first case of “unprovoked mass” violence in which many police personnel were injured and head constable Rattan Lal was murdered. Police said 22 people were arrested in the case by using video stabilisation technology.

“Both the officers have been rewarded for their efforts and perseverance to make a watertight case against accused persons,” Delhi police said in a statement.

Inspector Amaleshwar Kumar Rai, who probed the murder of intelligence bureau officer Ankit Sharma during the Delhi riots has also been awarded the medal.

To be sure, the cases of the Delhi riots are still in the trial stage at the city courts. Delhi police have been criticised for their riots investigation and arresting students and activists who were part of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests. Police have maintained that the riots were orchestrated by many prominent faces of the CAA protests, a charge that has been denied vehemently by the arrested students and activists.

Inspector Satish Sharma who investigated the Batla House encounter was awarded the medal posthumously.

Another officer chosen for the medal is DCP KPS Malhotra for investigations during his stint at the Narcotics Control Bureau. Malhotra probed Bollywood actors for their alleged role in drug cases that came to light after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. Malhotra is attached to police commissioner Rakesh Asthana’s office.

Others who won the medal were inspector Domica Purty, for solving a 2020 rape case, inspector Virender Singh for probing the DDA land pooling fraud and DCP Harsh Vardhan for solving recruitment scam in Arunachal Pradesh.