Dalit student’s killing: Court asks police chief to act against ACP

The Delhi police chief has been asked by a city court to take action against one of his assistant commissioners and an inspector for botching up the probe into the killing of a Dalit student by some student leaders of a Delhi University college.

The Delhi police chief has been asked by a city court to take action against one of his assistant commissioners and an inspector for botching up the probe into the killing of a Dalit student by some student leaders of a Delhi University college.

HT Image

Additional sessions judge Kamini Lau directed police commissioner BK Gupta to take action against ACP Pratap Singh and another inspector, saying the two police officers also dithered in promptly invoking the provisions of anti-Dalit atrocity law against the accused. The court said the two officers dithered despite Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe Commission recommending the invoking of anti-Dalit atrocity law in April this year.

The police acted on the statutory body’s recommendation after a month’s delay in May 2011. “In fact, any deliberate delay in invoking the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and suppression of material facts tantamount to wilful non-performance of duties, the judge said.

She said: “It is desirable that the conduct of all the investigating officers involved in the probe particularly after April 29, 2011 (i.e. after communication of the director, SC/ST Commission) be probed in this regard.” It also sought a compliance report of its order from the police chief.

The court’s order came in the case pertaining to the killing of Satyawati College student Akshay Prakash (19), who, along with his friend Lalit Kumar, was beaten up by the college’s students’ union president Prashant Tyagi and his friends on September 27, 2010.