'Dead' murder accused case: HC asks Delhi Police to probe

The Delhi High Court has directed city police to probe whether some of its officers suppressed facts in a case pertaining to identification of a body as that of a murder accused who had jumped bail.
The accused had allegedly connived with his family members to show the unidentified body as his own to get him declared dead by Uttar Pradesh Police.
A special bench of justices Kailash Gambhir and Sunita Gupta directed the DCP concerned, under whose jurisdiction the Seelampur police station falls, to "carefully go through report of UP police" and file a status report by next date of hearing.

It issued the direction after noting that UP Police in its report has said that some officers of Anti Auto Theft Squad of Seelampur police station were "guilty of suppressing the facts in the matter".
"Conduct of all these officers is not above suspicion. It was a very serious issue where a decomposed body of some person came to be identified as that of the appellant.
"As per the UP police report the officials here are trying to come in the way of justice. It will not be allowed in this case," the court said, while issuing the directions to Delhi Police.

The bench also made it clear that "the necessary facts shall be fully inquired into and no casual approach will be entertained" and directed that the status report be filed in four weeks.

The court was hearing the appeal of Rajbir against his conviction by a trial court here in a murder case.
During pendency of his appeal in court, he had obtained bail and then went missing.
Despite repeated summons, when the court had failed to get his presence in the appeal case, it had decided to direct the police in Ghaziabad to trace him since he belonged to that district.

Later information, through UP Police, was received by the court that the accused is dead.