NEW DELHI, Dec 26:
A Commission of Inquiry headed by a former Delhi High court judge to go into the gang-rape incident was set up today by the Centre, which also ordered a probe into allegations of police interference in recording the victim’s statement that has snowballed into a major row.
A meeting of the Union Cabinet presided by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh took the decision to set up the one-person Commission headed by Justice (retd) Usha Mehra to identify lapses and fix responsibility in the gang-rape of 23-year-old girl in a moving bus in South Delhi on night of December 16.
The Commission, which will also suggest measures to make Delhi and NCR safer for women, will submit within three months its report to be tabled in Parliament along with action taken by the Government.
Announcing the decision to set up the Commission at a news conference after the meeting, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said it was a “matter of shame” that the incident happened in Delhi and the Central Government has special responsibility.
At the meeting, several ministers voiced their anguish at the horrific crime and said the Government should walk the extra mile to ensure recovery of the victim and instil a sense of safety among women.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde briefed the meeting on the incident and steps being taken to defuse the situation.
On allegations by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit that Delhi Police officers had interfered in the process of recording of statement of the rape victim, Chidambaram said the Home Minister told the Cabinet that an internal probe by a senior officer has been ordered into it.
As the row with the Delhi Government escalated, Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar wrote to the Home Ministry rebutting charges that police had interfered when a magistrate was recording the statement of the victim.
Stepping up its pressure on the Police Commissioner, Delhi Chief Secretary P K Tripathi said after the State Cabinet meeting that Kumar has no authority to comment on functioning of the SDM who complained of police interference while recording the statement.
The condition of the rape victim deteriorated last night as her pulse rate reduced considerably but it recovered soon.
She, however, continues to be critical but stable, doctors attending on her at Safdarjung hospital said. She continues to be on ventilator support in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Meanwhile, a controversy raged today over the cause of death of Constable Subhash Tomar during violent demonstrations last Sunday with eyewitnesses and a Government hospital claiming there were no injuries on his person while the post mortem report contradicted these versions.
The Delhi Police late in the evening released excerpts of report of the post mortem done by a Board of Doctors in the Government Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) hospital, where he died yesterday.
Following contradictory versions, Delhi Police asked its Crime Branch to investigate the case in which murder charges have been invoked.
“Myocardial infarction (cardiac arrest) and its complications that could be precipitated by multiple ante-mortem (before death) injuries to neck and chest produced by blunt force impact,” Additional Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) K C Dwivedi said quoting from the report as the cause of 47-year-old Tomar’s death.
The Delhi Police statement came on a day when various claims emerged about the cause of Tomar’s death with two eye- witnesses claiming that they did not spot any injuries on his person when they tried to revive him after he collapsed near India Gate on Sunday during violent protests against the gang-rape of a girl in a moving bus on December 16.
To add to this, Medical Superintendent of RML Dr T S Sidhu, said, there were “no major external injury marks except for some cuts and bruises…In all our records, there are no severe internal injuries recorded but the post-mortem will tell everything.”
Asked whether it was a case of cardiac arrest, Sidhu said, “I don’t know. That is not my comment. He came, he was in serious shock and we revived him. He came in a State of total collapse.”
A journalism student Yogendra and his friend Paoline, who have rushed Tomar to the hospital, contradicted police version that the Constable was beaten up by protesters leading to his death. He fell down on his own, they said.
Yogendra claimed, “I was at India Gate with a female friend who was injured. I saw one policeman who was running after protesters and then suddenly collapsing. We rushed towards him and some policemen were also there. Suddenly, policemen started running after other protesters.
“So I rushed to a nearby PCR van. They took him to hospital. I also went in the same vehicle. I saw him in hospital and his body didn’t have any injuries. He wasn’t trampled by a mob, he wasn’t assaulted. The claims of police are false. I am surprised to hear that eight were arrested over Tomar’s death,” Yogendra claimed.
Paolin said she saw him falling down. “We removed his jacket and shoes. I asked whether he can hear me and then I asked him to breathe…He was sweating profusely and there were no injuries on his body. If we had not been there, he would have been dead on the spot,” she said.
Tomar’s family refuted the claims of an eye-witness, saying he died after suffering injuries caused in the chaos.
“My father died because of the chaos during the protests at India Gate. Protesters pushed him, they trampled upon him. He had internal injuries. The claims that he did not receive injuries are false,” Tomar’s son Aditya said.
Tomar’s family claimed that the policeman did not have a history of heart problems. “Tomar was attacked by protesters. He did not suffer from any heart-related problems,” Tomar’s relative Naveen Chaudhary said.
The post mortem report said Tomar’s third, fourth and fifth ribs on left side had fractures and there was “mid- calibaculur bleeding” at several places.
Police sources said effusion of blood was present in tissues and neck muscles and ante-mortem injuries were caused when the body suffered heavy blows from a blunt object.
“He had a lot of injuries. His ribs had fractures. These multiple injuries aggravated his condition and led to cardiac arrest,” Dwivedi said.
Asked whether after the post mortem report, police would initiate action against doctors at RML, Dwivedi said he has no comments to offer as investigations were with Crime Branch. “I can’t comment on doctors or eyewitnesses comments,” he said.
Police have slapped murder charges in the case. Earlier, eight persons, including an activist of Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were arrested on Monday on charges of attempt to murder.
Following the claims of the eye-witnesses, AAP demanded sacking of Commissioner Kumar alleging that police was misleading people by arresting eight “innocent youth” in connection with the incident.
Kejriwal said Yogendra’s account was opposite of what police said. “Is police lying?” he asked.
AAP chief Spokesperson Manish Sisodia alleged police was “politicising” Tomar’s death to cover their mistakes and demanded that Kumar be sacked.
“Delhi Police should have dealt with the matter with sensitivity and honoured the constable’s death. But, the police have politicised the death to cover their own mistakes. We feel that the Delhi Police are involved in a conspiracy. The police commissioner should be sacked,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Home Ministry has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of Tomar. (PTI)
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