The High Court was hearing a plea by the late farmer Navreet Singh’s grandfather.
New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court Thursday directed the Uttar Pradesh police to provide original X-Ray plate and video of post mortem of the 25-year-old farmer, who died after his tractor overturned during the tractor rally on Republic Day.
Justice Yogesh Khanna said let both the original documents be handed over to the official of Delhi Police on March 5 at 2 PM and they shall be retained by the investigating officer in safe custody.
The high court was hearing a plea by the late farmer Navreet Singh’s grandfather — Hardeep Singh — claiming that the victim suffered gunshot injuries to his head. His post mortem was conducted at Rampur district hospital in Uttar Pradesh.
However, both the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police claimed before the court that Navreet did not suffer any gunshot wounds.
Delhi government standing counsel (criminal) Rahul Mehra, representing the Delhi Police, told the court that though they have requested the Uttar Pradesh Police to give original X-Ray plate and post mortem video but the officials of Rampur police and hospital denied the same, unless ordered by the court.
Advocate Garima Prashad, representing the Uttar Pradesh Police and the CMO of the hospital, said they do not have X-Ray report and they only have the X-Ray plate and the post mortem report which they are willing to handover to the Delhi Police on the date and time fixed by the court.
She said the original post mortem and inquest reports have already been handed over to the Delhi Police.
Advocate Vrinda Grover, representing the petitioner, sought a copy of the X-Ray report and post mortem and inquest reports.
As Mehra stated that they have no objection in giving those documents to the petitioner, the high court said, “let the needful be done” and listed the matter for further hearing on March 17.
Ms Grover also said once the original X-Ray plate is received from the Uttar Pradesh Police, the court can ask AIIMS or any other forensic department to prepare a report out of the X-Ray plate for their perusal.
Delhi Police had earlier said that according to the post-mortem report the young farmer died due to a head injury as a result of the accident and all his injuries were possible in a road accident.
The petition, also filed through advocate Soutik Banerjee, has sought a court-monitored SIT probe into the death of the young farmer.
The Delhi Police, also represented by advocate Chaitanya Gosain, has relied upon the footage collected from CCTV cameras located at the site — Deen Dayal Upadhyay marg — where the young farmer died and said that he was driving the tractor at high speed and the vehicle overturned after hitting the barricades.
The Delhi Police agreed to show the footage to the petitioner’s counsel.
It had said that the footage also shows that the police personnel were running away for safety from the speeding tractor and that none of them fired upon the vehicle or the driver.
The Delhi Police has also said that CCTV footage further indicates that the protestors did not take the injured Navreet Singh to any nearby hospital and instead they attacked the ambulances that reached the site after hearing about the accident.
It had said that the protestors instead of taking him to the hospital immediately, kept his body on the road for five hours and then spread rumours that he was killed in police firing.
The Uttar Pradesh police, in its status report, had stated that no FIR has been registered by it in connection with the death as claimed by the petitioner.
The petitioner’s counsel had earlier contended that the way Delhi Police has conducted itself in the matter “does not inspire a shred of confidence”.
It had argued that this indicated that the victim lost control of the tractor and it overturned as he was shot by the police personnel.
According to the police, the man had died as his tractor overturned at ITO where many farmers participating in the parade had reached from the Ghazipur border after taking a detour of the pre-agreed route for the march.
The police had claimed that the man was driving the tractor and he came under the vehicle as it overturned.