Witness accuses Delhi cops of intimidation, court asks top cop to probe

New Delhi: A court here has asked the Delhi Police Commissioner to initiate probe into allegations that some cops have been threatening a witness not to depose against Tihar jail authorities in a CBI inquiry into the death of an undertrial and had even implicated him in a false case. “If there is even an iota of truth in the allegations of witness Mohd Rashid, the same is very serious matter,” Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ajay Pandey said. The court directed the police commissioner to take appropriate action on allegations against an Additional Sub-Inspector that he lodged a false case against witness Mohd Rashid to dissuade him from deposing against Tihar jail authorities and then released him on bribe of Rs 25,000. [caption id=“attachment_994733” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The Delhi police is accused of intimidation. PTI[/caption] “The allegations make out a clear case of extortion and bribery…. In the facts and circumstances, it is rightly submitted by his counsel that an FIR is required to be registered on the allegations. “A copy of this order be sent to commissioner of police with a view to take appropriate action in the matter,” the court said. The CMM passed the order on a plea for protection made by Rashid through advocate S C Joshi and also directed the CBI to “expedite the matter” and “provide adequate security” to the witness. Rashid is a witness in the case of custodial death of an undertrial in a murder case, Mobin Thakur, in 2007. Rashid was himself in jail for another offence at the time when Thakur had died. The probe into the custodial death was handed over to the CBI by the Delhi High Court on the plea of Mobin’s widow. Rashid’s counsel told the court that he had in his statement to CBI made certain allegations against the jail superintendent, deputy superintendent and warden. In July 2009, Rashid was acquitted by the High Court and “ever since he has come out of the jail, officials of the special staff of Delhi Police are torturing him”, he alleged. He also said that on 4 June this year, “two officials of the special staff –Mohd Irfan and Dharmender visited his house in Uttar Pradesh and said that if he does not withdraw his statement against jail authorities in CBI case, he will be booked in false cases and eliminated in fake encounter.” He said ASI Dheer Singh posted at Seelampur police station registered a false case under section 324 IPC (voluntarily causing hurt) against him and then took a bribe of Rs 25,000 to release him. He also threatened him not to give any statement against the jail authorities or any police official. Rashid’s counsel also produced a photograph before the court in which the ASI can be seen along with currency notes. “If there is even an iota of truth in the allegations of witness Rashid, the same is very serious matter. The photographs filed in support of the allegations are speaking for themselves. “The genuinity of photographs may be under scrutiny but prima facie they reflect that witness Rashid is sitting with some police official who is counting notes in denomination of Rs 1,000,” the CMM noted. PTI