Missing woman puts Delhi police in dock

Slain gangster’s father alleges his pregnant wife was detained 

NEW DELHI: Taking a serious note of the Delhi police’s repeated atrocities, the Delhi high court on Monday pulled up its elite special cell.

Devi Ram, father of the slain Uttar Pradesh-based gangster Gurbachan Singh has filed a petition in the court alleging that special cell sleuths have “illegally detained” Singh’s pregnant wife Rita.

Gurbachan Singh and his associate Jabbar Singh had been killed in an encounter by the special cell in Haridwar on October 25, while the two were reportedly trying to escape from police custody.

This is not for the first time that the Delhi police have been pulled up for its “high handedness”. About two weeks back, 10 policemen were sentenced to life imprisonment for gunning down two businessmen a decade back in Connaught Place.

On Monday, when a division bench of Justice RS Sodhi and Justice BN Chaturvedi took up Devi Ram’s petition for hearing, the special cell sleuths denied having any knowledge of Rita’s whereabouts.

“How can this type of a thing happen? A person goes to you and does not return and later you say that you don’t know about his or her whereabouts,” the bench remarked.

Appearing for the police, counsel Mukta Gupta submitted that the matter had been referred to the crime branch and that Rita was not in the special cell’s custody.

Justice Sodhi said, “I don’t believe your excuse that you don’t know the woman’s whereabouts.” Gupta submitted before the court that an independent team would find the woman and submit a report by November 28.