New Delhi:
Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar has written to the home ministry, rebutting a magistrate's allegation that three top Delhi cops had tried to interfere with the crucial process of recording gang-rape survivor Amanat's (Not her real name) statement last week. Delhi chief minster Sheila Dikshit had written to Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde yesterday asking for an inquiry into the judge's allegation and the young woman's statement was recorded a second time yesterday evening. The government meanwhile has also decided to set up a commission to look into the alleged lapses in the handling of the gang-rape case. There is also controversy now over how Delhi Police constable Subhash Tomar, who had fallen to the ground during clashes between the police and protesters on Sunday, died.
Here are the 10 latest developments in the case:
The Delhi Chief Minister held an emergency meeting today to discuss the row over the recording of the statement. Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Usha Chaturvedi, who had complained against three senior police officers was also asked to attend the meeting.
Ms Chaturvedi had alleged that the three cops, tried to dissuade the young woman's mother from letting her record her statement on camera. The Delhi Police has said that it was not them, but the student's mother, who did not want the 23-year-old's testimony to be video-taped. Amanat's statement was recorded a second time yesterday. But this time too it was not recorded on camera.
Sources say Amanat has narrated the same sequence of events in both her statements. Her statement will be used in the trial of the six men arrested for the gang-rape.
The Centre has announced that a commission of inquiry, headed by a woman judge, will identify the lapses that allowed the brutal gang-rape and also fix responsibility for these lapses. It will also suggest measures to ensure better safety of women.
The Home Ministry has asked the Delhi Police to submit a detailed report on how constable Subhash Tomar was killed. Mr Tomar fell to the ground while the police clashed with thousands of demonstrators who were demanding tougher anti-rape laws and better safety for women in Delhi after the gang-rape of the young student on a moving bus. He was cremated with full state honours yesterday.
The police says that Mr Tomar was injured severely in the protests; a section of demonstrators allege that this accusation is to combat charges of the lack of restraint shown by the cops while they used batons, tear-gas and water cannons to dispel the protests. Doctors at Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) say he had no major external injuries when he was admitted. A post mortem report is awaited and the case has been handed to the Crime Branch.
Eight people including some from the Aam Admi Party have been charged with inciting violence and riots during the weekend's protests. Four of them appeared in a Delhi court today to submit sureties for seeking bail. Speaking to NDTV, they alleged that they were being framed and claimed that they weren't present at India Gate on Sunday.
All nine metro stations - Pragati Maidan, Mandi House, Barakhamba Road, Rajiv Chowk, Khan Market, Race Course, Udyog Bhawan, Central Secretariat and Patel Chowk - that were shut for three days opened yesterday evening. At India Gate, while all other roads are open, the one leading up to Parliament, north and south Blocks, which house key ministries and Rashtrapati Bhawan, is barricaded. The India Gate monument is also closed to tourists, morning walkers and general traffic.
Top Congress leaders met at the PM's house yesterday over two-and-a-half hours to discuss the anti-rape protests in Delhi that resulted in clashes between the police and the protesters over the weekend, leading to a security clampdown in the New Delhi area. Press Trust of India has quoted sources as saying that the meeting was informed that the Government has requested protesting student organisations and other groups to send their suggestions to the J S Verma Committee set up to rewrite rape laws. The government has said it is ready to talk with the protesters again, but that there is no room for violence.
Yesterday, a group of 16 young women, between 18 and 25 years of age, were kept at a police station for about four hours. They alleged that the police manhandled them at Jantar Mantar and beat them up after they were taken to the nearby Parliament Street police station. Police sources have denied the charges, saying the girls abused them, tried to incite others, and attempted to break through barricades.
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