Framed by Police

The Additional Sessions Judge, Virender Bhat acquitted Moinuddin Dar and six other Kashmiri men on 2 February this year with the judicial fi nding that the men had been framed by Delhi police personnel. The judge has directed that a first information report (FIR) be lodged against four policemen. The police claim to have had an encounter and recovered an AK-47, magazines, hand grenades and fake currency has been found to be false. Fabricating false evidence to procure conviction is a serious offence under the Indian Penal Code punishable with up to life imprisonment. The seven men have lost six invaluable years of their life due to the deliberate fabrication by the police.

The Delhi Police should immediately register the FIR and proceed against the accused policemen in order to send a strong message to erring police officers given to the practice of staging false encounters and framing people in false cases. In addition to the heinous offence of fabricating evidence, cases under the Arms Act for the possession of the arms planted on the innocent persons should also be pursued. The Rule of Law demands that rather than appealing against the order directing the registration of FIR, the Delhi Police pursue the case against the four policemen. It is a sad irony that despite acquittal and a clear finding of framing in a false case, the police has not released the persons claiming that the individuals are wanted in another case. PUDR demands the release forthwith of Moniuddin Dar and the six others and prosecution of the four policemen named by the judge – Ravinder Tyagi, Nirakar, Charan Singh and Mohinder Singh.