The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Delhi Police to file a status report on the investigation into the death of a nine-year-old Dalit girl on August 1 at a crematorium in southwest Delhi. But since only its burnt remains could be recovered from the pyre, a medical examination proved inconclusive. Four people have been arrested.
The court passed the order after hearing a plea by his parents seeking a court-monitored SIT probe. The parents also demanded additional security.
Advocate Jitendra Kumar Jha, representing the petitioners, told the court that there was a delay of more than five hours for the police to reach the crime scene.
Jha also submitted that the parents were taken to the police station and “tortured and pressurized to settle the matter” overnight. The FIR was registered only after 9 am the next day, he said.
Delhi standing counsel (criminal) Sanjay Lao, representing the police, told the court that the investigation has been transferred to the crime branch and an SIT has already been constituted by the DCP. Lao also told the court that round-the-clock security was provided to the victim’s family.
“Both prayers have already been fulfilled,” said Lao.
The court did not agree with Jha’s contention and said that the petitioners can also raise the issues in the trial court. “When they have formed the SIT and they have taken the investigation to the crime branch, in that case, let them do their job. Let them file the report. You cannot assume that they will not work,” Justice Yogesh Khanna said.
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