In a much publicized Gandhi Nagar Robbery case, a petition was filed by Harmeet Kour wife of S Sudershan Singh Wazir ( who was in custody of Delhi police in connection with murder of Trilochan Singh Wazir), seeking directions for shifting of investigation in FIR no. 310/2022 dated 08.12.2022 registered with Police Station, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu to Crime Branch to be headed by a high ranking Police officer of the rank of Inspector General of Police keeping in view the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case.
Justice Rahul Bharti of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court Sr. Adv Sunil Sethi with Adv Navyug sethi for the petitioner issued notice and directed Director General Police J&K to take cognizance of the matter to ensure seizure and security of the records of the investigation conducted so far by the special investigation team (SIT) with respect to FIR no. 310/2022 of the Police Station, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu including which have not been kept with the part challan filed before the Court of Excise Magistrate, Jammu.
In the petition it has been submitted that the petitioner’s concern and case is foul play on the part of the investigation team handling the investigation with respect to FIR no. 310/2022 registered with the Police Station, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu which is alleged to have been used to plant and set up framed evidence to implicate the petitioner’s husband Sudershan Singh Wazir in relation to FIR no. 0557/2021 registered with the Police Station, Moti Nagar, New Delhi in which final police report under section 173 Cr. P.C. stood already filed against Harmeet Singh and three others going on trial before the criminal court in Delhi without the petitioner’s husband named in the said police report.
The petitioner pleads that an FIR no. 0557/2021 registered with the Police Station, Moti Nagar, New Delhi is with respect to death of Tarlochan Singh Wazir, an ex MLC and a resident of Jammu, who was found dead on 09.09.2021 in Delhi resulting in registration of said FIR no. 0557/2021 registered with the Police Station, Moti Nagar, (Crime Branch) New Delhi and the investigation taken over by the Crime Branch (Rohini), New Delhi.
The petitioner avers that though her husband’s name was designedly reflected in said FIR by reference to him as being a conspirator but in the final police report filed on 10.12.2021, the petitioner’s husband was not booked as an accused in the case by the Crime Branch(Rohini), New Delhi and the case was addressed against the three accused persons namely Harmeet Singh, Rajinder Chaudhary and Balbir Singh.
The petitioner pleads that seeing the development that final report with respect to FIR no. 0557/2021 registered with the Police Station, Moti Nagar, New Delhi has not resulted in roping in the petitioner’s husband, the family members of the deceased Tarlochan Singh Wazir were on a look out to somehow get the petitioner’s husband framed in said case and for that came to use the occasion of an incident of a dacoity in the house of one Rakesh Aggarwal in Gandhi Nagar locality of Jammu for which an FIR no. 310/2022 got registered with the Police Station, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu and for that incident of crime one Amit Rana (Harpreet Singh) was disclosed to be the crime doer.
The petitioner states her case that said FIR no. 310/222 was used as a pretext to question the petitioner’s husband on three occasions, twice in Police Station, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu and once at her residence. In the name of questioning, the special investigation team (SIT) took the petitioner’s husband’s CDRs of mobile phone, DVRs of CCTV cameras of residence and office of the petitioner’s husband and then seized on 23.12.2022.
The petitioner’s serious allegation is that by profiling the petitioner’s husband’s movements, visits and course of activities, by study of seized articles, one person namely Gulshan Kumar was briefed by the vested interests in the SIT and then presented to the Crime Branch (Delhi) to be a witness to disclose that he had seen the petitioner’s husband and Harpreet Singh conspiring about the alleged murder of Tarlochan Singh Wazir.
By reference to FIR no. 0557/2021 the learned counsel for the petitioner submits that in said FIR name of Harpreet Singh was very prominently figuring along with Harmeet Singh, and that Gulshan Kumar was none other than the driver of Harpreet Singh and co-partner in crime activity of Harpreet Singh. It is pleaded that the petitioner’s husband was not booked as an accused in the challan presented to court of law with respect to FIR no. 310/2022 Police Station Gandhi Nagar Jammu. The petitioner seriously alleges that it is a design and not a coincidence that by using Gulshan Kumar’s statement the petitioner’s husband has come to be arrested by the Crime Branch (Delhi) in the name of further investigation in relation to FIR no. 0557/2021 registered with the Police Station, Moti Nagar, New Delhi.
Through this writ petition, the petitioner is invoking the writ jurisdiction of this Court for the sake of transfer the further investigation of FIR no. 310/2022 dated 08.12.2022 registered with the Police Station, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu to the Crime Branch, Jammu to be headed by a high-rank police official of the Inspector General of Police and also for immediate seizure of the records of the investigation so far by the Police Station Gandhi Nagar, Jammu with respect to FIR no. 310/2022 including records which have not been kept with the part challan filed before the Court of Excise Magistrate, Jammu.
The sequence of facts and circumstances pleaded in the case and submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner admit of a prima facie impression that there is something more than what meets the eye as in relation to none of two aforementioned FIRs the full investigation resulting in filing of respective Police Report the petitioner’s husband did not figure to be implicated as co accused but he is still suffering arrest. (JNF)