After ten former IPS officers, including former Mumbai Police Commissioner Julio Ribeiro, questioned the Delhi Police investigation into the Delhi riots cases and accused them of implicating anti-CAA protesters while lenient with others Associated with the ruling party, another group of ex-IPS officers have come out in support of the city police.
In a statement released on Friday, 26 retired IPS officers said they were “shocked by the conduct” of some fellow former police officers who support such “anti-India expression and communal narrative.” They referred to some controversial slogans allegedly raised by former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid, arrested under the strict Illicit Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and other serious charges. Khalid’s arrest last Sunday in the case of riots has been criticized by many social activists, who have accused the Delhi police of attacking anti-government voices.
The 26 former police officers said: “The Delhi Police have every right and duty to investigate the role of such individuals, and the custody investigation is part of due process of law. The defendant has his rights, according to the law, to request an advance bond or a regular bond, depending on the cause, and the right to a fair trial in which he can prove his innocence.
Among the 26 former IPS agents who signed the statement.
“A sector of former police officers cannot usurp the position of Presidents of the Courts to declare anyone innocent and try to discredit the police. These officers have no right to suspect or question the integrity and professionalism of their successors in the Indian Police Service and, in turn, demoralize them, “they said in the statement.
They said such “adverse positions and comments” can demotivate police officers and dilute their firm determination to act against criminals, including those who incite communal division in India by instigating riots.
“We disapprove of any statement or gesture by any motivated group of former police officers, whose objective is to defame the police force and its officers on duty, who are fulfilling their duty day and night at great personal risk to the safety of the general public.” they said. additional.
Last week, former IPS officer Ribeiro wrote a letter to Delhi Police Chief SN Shrivastava, requesting him to investigate the investigation into the northeast Delhi riots and ensure that it was impartial. Riberio told the Delhi police chief that the police have failed to act against those who made hate speech that led to the riots.
Two days later, nine retired IPS officers, including AS Dulat, former OSD in Kashmir, office of the Prime Minister; K Saleem Ali, former special director of CBI; Amitabh Mathur, former special secretary of the Cabinet Secretariat, and PGJ Nampoothiri, former director general of Gujarat police, wrote an open letter to Shrivastava, saying that they were pained that the police implicated those who spoke and joined the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) but freeing those who instigated the violence and are associated with the ruling party.
On Tuesday, Shrivastava responded to questions raised about the riot investigation by Riberio and wrote to him, saying that the investigation was being carried out without any discrimination of caste or religion, and that it was supported by documentary and scientific evidence.
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