NEW DELHI: A city court came heavily on Delhi Police while acquitting three people in a murder case in 2014, saying while the actual killer is at large, innocents were put to trial and the investigation seemed a “deliberate attempt to safeguard the actual offender”.
The case goes back to December 2014, in which a decapitated and mutilated body was found in the Bawana area in North West Delhi. Additional Sessions Judge Dhirendra Rana highlighted prima facie the possibility of human sacrifice.
The spot of the incident hinted that some kind of “tantrik” (occult) worship or religious act was performed, the court noted. The trio was arrested for the alleged killing. The judge, in the recent order, noted that the investigation is ‘shoddy and manipulated,’ asking how the alleged weapon of murder, a blade, could be used to chop off the deceased’s head and mutilate his body in a manner that his chest bones were visible.
“The collected evidence has not been proved as per law and the investigation seems to be shoddy, manipulated and a deliberate attempt to safeguard the actual offender. The investigation carried out by the IO is not only an injustice to the deceased but also to the accused persons, who have been facing trial since 2015,” the order said.
As per the cops, the deceased, Manjeet, as well as the three arrested men, were drug addicts and on the day of the incident, the victim had refused to share his contraband with them, which irked the accused who killed him.
The ASJ said that the investigating officer (IO) did not make any effort to trace the victim’s head and the accused had no purpose in concealing it. Taking note of the post-mortem report, the court said the victim’s head and chest bones were chopped off after his death and his heart was also missing.
“Usually, a dead body is not found in such a mutilated condition in a murder case. The IO ignored this fact and went ahead to solve the case on the basis of the last-seen theory,” the court said.“The whole crime scene was an indicator of human sacrifice but the IO, for the reason best known to him, opted not to investigate the matter,” the court said, adding, “This case prima facie appears to be related to human sacrifice instead of the drug consumption theory.”
While freeing the accused persons, the court said the prosecution had failed to prove the case against them beyond a reasonable doubt and directed the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) concerned to take suitable departmental action against the Investigating Officer.
Possibility of human sacrifice, says court
The case goes back to December 2014, in which a decapitated and mutilated body was found in the Bawana area in North West Delhi. Additional Sessions Judge Dhirendra Rana highlighted prima facie the possibility of human sacrifice. A “tantrik” (occult) worship or religious act was performed at the spot, the court noted. The judge, in the recent order, noted that the investigation is ‘shoddy and manipulated,’ asking how the alleged weapon of murder, a blade, could be used to chop off the deceased’s head and mutilate his body in a manner that his chest bones were visible.