Delhi Riots: Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana constitutes special cell to monitor probe

Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana has issued an order constituting a Special Investigation Cell (SIC) for monitoring the investigation into Delhi Riots that occurred in the national capital in February, 2020..The order was issued by Asthana on September 19, 2021."In order to expedite and streamline the investigation, besides ensuring proper scrutiny and 'Pairvi' of North-East Riot cases registered and being investigated by the North-East District, a Special Investigation Cell (SIC) is constituted under the Chairmanship of Spl. CP/ Central Zone," the order said.The order also specified the composition of the SIC which will have a Special Commissioner of Police (CP) for the Central Zone who shall also function as the chairperson.In addition to this, the membership of the Special Investigation Cell shall comprise of a Joint CP for the Eastern Range, a DCP for the North-East and an additional DCP-I for the North-East as well.The order also listed the various functions that the SIC will be performing:1. The Committee shall take stock of all the pending investigation/ pending trial riot cases being investigated in the North-East District and immediately chalk out a time bound strategy to ensure expeditious investigation and effective prosecution of riots cases. The emphasis should be on scientific and technical evidences to be brought on record. 2. All the case files of PI cases shall be properly scrutinized and the investigating officers (IO) shall be guided suitably to complete the investigation in a more effective and time bound manner by adducing all possible evidences on record.3. The Committee shall ensure filing of all supplementary chargesheets in Court, expeditiously.4. In all cases, where Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) results are pending, personal follow up will be made with the Director FSL with the request to expedite the FSL results. The matter shall be pursued with concerned FSL divisions on priority, for obtaining FSL results. 5. The officers shall personally liaise with the Special Public Prosecutors (SPPs) to ensure their presence in court in all matters, to represent the case of the prosecution on each date effectively. They will be thoroughly briefed well in advance, before every date of hearing.6. In case the Spl. Public Prosecutor is unable to attend the court due to some unavoidable circumstances, the court shall be informed in advance so that no inconvenience is caused to the court and a suitable adjournment be taken from the Court. In such cases, senior police officers will remain present in the court to effectively present the facts to the court.7. The team shall ensure that all the witnesses and IOs are appearing in court on time, properly briefed and well prepared. In case, the IO is unable to attend the court, the SIC shall direct the Station House Officer (SHO) to either attend the matter himself or depute a responsible officer well conversant with the facts of the case to assist the court. In no case, the matter shall be allowed to be left unattended. 8. Police Headquarters had attached 14 police officers, who had earlier been serving in North-East District during the riots and had assisted the investigation of these cases, to expedite and complete the remaining investigation of PI cases. The Monitoring Cell shall ensure that all these officers are properly tasked and monitored to achieve the desirable results. 9. KG Tyagi, ACP (Retd.) has been appointed as a consultant to monitor the riot cases in court matters. His services must be effectively utilized for proper pairvi of the cases.