Pit death arrest row: Police seek more time from court to present CCTV footage

Prajapati, through advocates Yogesh Aggarwal and Tushar Gupta, claimed that this vitiated his arrest and that he was entitled to be released on technical grounds

The Delhi Police on Monday told a city court that they have not yet been able to extract the CCTV footage from Janakpuri police station in connection with allegations of illegal arrest of Rajesh Prajapati, the sub-contractor accused in the death of 25-year-old Kamal Dhyani, who fell into an unsecured excavation pit in West Delhi’s Janakpuri.

The unsecured pit in Janakpuri into which 25-year-old Kamal Dhyani fell and died on February 6. (HT Archive)

Prajapati, who is currently in judicial custody, has claimed that his arrest was illegal and unconstitutional. His plea alleges that he was illegally apprehended on February 6; however, he was produced before the magistrate only two days later, on February 8.

Prajapati, through advocates Yogesh Aggarwal and Tushar Gupta, claimed that this vitiated his arrest and that he was entitled to be released on technical grounds.

As per Article 22(2) of the Constitution and Section 187 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, police are required to produce an arrested person before the nearest magistrate within 24 hours, excluding travel time.

Noting the contentions, the court had, on February 11, ordered police to produce the CCTV footage from inside Janakpuri police station between February 6 and 8 and file a comprehensive reply to ascertain whether the accused was detained prior to the time reflected in the arrest memo and whether there was any violation of statutory safeguards.

The court told police to clearly indicate in the footage the time of arrival and departure of Prajapati from the police station.

On Monday, the police stated, “Due to technical storage constraints, the CCTV footage as directed to be furnished is not produced. It is further submitted that CCTV footage has been preserved and shall be produced before this court after proper extraction.”

The court went on to issue a fresh notice to the investigating officer (IO) to file a detailed reply along with the relevant CCTV footage on the next date of hearing on February 18.

On February 11, Prajapati’s bail plea was rejected by the court, which observed that the offence was grave in nature and was caused by public negligence.

Meanwhile, the directors of the private firm, Himanshu and Kavish Gupta, hired by the DJB to carry out the excavation work, have their anticipatory bail hearings pending and have joined the investigation. The pleas will be taken up on February 18. Labourer Yogesh too has moved a bail plea which will be taken up on February 18.

On February 6, Kamal Dhyani fell into a 4.5-metre-deep excavation pit around 12.15am while returning home to Kailashpuri in Palam Colony after finishing his shift at a Rohini call centre. Police said he remained trapped for nearly eight hours despite several people, including Prajapati, becoming aware of the incident but failing to alert authorities or attempt a rescue.

Sub-contractor Rajesh Kumar Prajapati and labourer Yogesh have been arrested in the case. Police said passerby Vipin Singh alerted a security guard, who informed Yogesh. Yogesh then called Prajapati, who informed the firm’s directors, Himanshu and Kavish Gupta, about an hour later, but police were not notified. Investigators also told the court they have seized CCTV footage showing Yogesh placing barricades and green nets around the pit soon after the incident.