Why wasn't police commissioner suspended, asks HC

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday pulled up police and asked the reason for not suspending the commissioner of police and deputy commissioner of police in connection with the Dec 16 gang rape case.

The court’s remark came after counsel appearing for police submitted a status report of the case where it failed to provide names of officials deployed in police control room vans during the incident and told the court that the assistant commissioner of police of the area concerned had been suspended.

A division bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice V K Jain, expressing displeasure over the report, said: “We directed police to give the names of officials posted on the three PCR vans in the areas. Today also we are not convinced, because names of officers responsible have not come in.”

After police counsel Dayan Krishnan said the ACP of the PCR command had been suspended, the court said: “Is the ACP only responsible? Why not DCP and CP suspended?”

A 23-year-old trainee physiotherapist was brutally gang-raped in a moving bus with tinted glasses and curtains in the city and later died at a Singapore hospital.

The court also pulled up Delhi Police for not following the Supreme Court’s order on removing tinted glasses from vehicles.

When the court was told that the ACP of the traffic wing was also suspended, the court said: “Why joint commissioner of traffic not suspended? Who are the officials responsible for these lapses? Why were dark glasses and curtains not removed after the Supreme Court order? Why no further action was taken,” said Justice Jain.

The court would pass its order in the matter on Thursday.