L-G refuses to order probe

Delhi’s Lieutenant-governor has refused any magisterial probe in the Batla House encounter that took place on September 19, reports Vijaita Singh.

Delhi’s Lieutenant-governor (L-G) has refused any magisterial probe in the Batla House encounter that took place on September 19. The LG took the decision after going through the preliminary report submitted by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police that had probed the incident, sources said.

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A report on the encounter has also been submitted to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Delhi Police told Delhi High Court on January 22 about the L-G’s decision. The court is hearing the matter after an NGO, Act Now for Harmony and Democracy, filed a PIL seeking a judicial probe into the incident.

Hyderabad’s Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory also established there was “cross firing” at Batla House on September 19. The “dermal nitrate test” and “ballistic tests” said that all three men killed in the encounter — two alleged members of the Indian Mujahideen and inspector M.C. Sharma — had “gun powder” on their hands.