Asked action for questionable probe in murder case

Additional sessions judge N K Kaushik has asked Delhi Police commissioner to take action against R R Khatana, for conducting a questionable probe into a murder leading to the acquittal of all three accused. The judge said that inspector had tried to "raise unnecessary dust just to cause utter confusion and hide the truth". Noting that there was a string of lapses in the probe conducted by Khatana in the murder of west Delhi resident Hitender Singh, the court said, "It appears the inspector made it a point, in a calculated manner, may be in collusion with the accused, to ensure the failure of the prosecution's case during investigation itself."

While acquitting the murder accused in the case - Darshan Dabas, Navin Deshwal and Manish Lakra - the court held the inspector responsible for weakening the case and referred the matter to the police commissioner. "A copy of the judgment be sent to the police commissioner to take appropriate action against the delinquent investigating officer (Khatana) for not collecting cogent and requisite evidence in the matter, as per law, to get the offenders of such heinous offence punished," the judge said while also seeking a compliance report of its order from police.

The case dates back to November 10, 2008, when Nazafgarh resident Singh was found dead in his car parked near a banquet hall. Lying in a pool of blood, the man had sustained several bullet injuries. The police had also found the window-pane of the car's front door shattered and the driver's seat soaked in blood. A live cartridge and a shell were also found in the car besides a broken baseball bat stained with blood.

The prosecution had listed 47 witnesses to bolster its case but the public prosecutor later dropped several of them, saying their deposition was irrelevant. During the trial all witnesses including the parents, brothers and the wife of the deceased had turned hostile.