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BEFORE JUSTICE NANAVATI COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ( Witness No : 103 ) Name : Shri Ramesh Pal Singh On SA I was SHO Yamuna Vihar Police Station in October-November, 1984. The file exhibit No.W89/14 contains reports send by me. I had continued as SHO there till February 1985. Cross Examination by Shri H.S. Phoolka, Senior Advocate on behalf of November ’84 Carnage Justice committee : I had joined as SHO Police Station Yamuna Vihar in July 1982. Between 31st October, 84 and 5th November, 84 about 100 incidents had taken place in the area within the jurisdiction of my Police Station. There were more incidents on 2.11.84 than on 1.11.84. Number of incidents which had taken place on 3.11.84 were less. I had sent 29 dead bodies for post-mortem examination on 2.11.84. I had sent one more body on 5.11.84. The dead bodies which were sent to post-mortem examination on 2.11.84, were all sent in the evening. All the 29 deaths have taken place on 2.11.84. Three FIRs ( 275, 276, 277 ) were registered on 1.11.84. No offence was registered from 2nd to 4th November, 84. Since the mob was continuously indulging in the acts of arson and looting and as three FIR was already registered on 1.11.84, no FIR was registered on 2nd 3rd and 4th November, 84. In between 1982 and 1984, I was transferred to Krishna Nagar for about a year. As I was the SHO of that area I know many persons of that area. The mob consisted of persons from that locality. I had not seen anybody collecting the mob or leading the mob. I had not recognized anyone from the mob. Since the people used to come out of their houses for committing acts of arson and looting and since they were rushing in their houses after seeing the police, I say that the mob consisted of local people. We had made efforts to arrest the culprits after 5.11.84. Only those persons were arrested whose names were disclosed by the victims/witnesses/neighbours. Question : Can you point out any neighbour or a witness other than a victim on the basis of whose statement you have arrested any accused person ? Answer : I cannot reply this question of hand. I will have to study the file and then say whether any such arrest was made. I will submit the details after studying the file. I had visited many houses during the riots and after the riots for the purpose of identifying and arresting the persons indulging in the riots. I had personally not arrested anyone after visiting those houses. The Investigating Officer (IO) had done so and I can give those details only after studying the record. Question : Can you give any one instance where it is mentioned in the Case diary/ Jimni of any case file that the police had visited any house for the purpose of identifying the accused ? Answer : I can reply this question only after verifying the record. Question : Can you supply the list of persons arrested on the basis of statements given by the independent persons ? Answer : I can do so only after verifying the record. Question : How many persons were arrested for substantive offences on the basis of the efforts made by the police on their own ? Answer : I can do so only after verifying the record. The sanctioned strength of the Police Station is given on page 1 of the file exhibit No.W89/13. I had come across mobs at various places on 1.11.84. I had controlled the mob by directing it to disperse as well as by resorting to lathicharge. The police had not resorted to firing on 1.11.84 because that was not found necessary. I had not seen any killing on 1.11.84. I had moved throughout the area of my Police Station on 1.11.84. During the investigation of FIR No.275 number of complaints were received regarding deaths of Sikhs. It was alleged that 16 deaths had taken place. All those complaints were investigated by the police. As a result of the investigation it was found that the allegations regarding number of deaths were proved. For those 16 deaths, number of persons were arrested and they were chargesheeted. During the investigation of FIR No.276, 13 dead bodies were recovered on 2.11.84 by the police. Those bodies were found in B and C blocks of Yamuna Vihar. During the investigation of FIR No.277, complaints were received regarding alleged deaths of 23 sikhs. During the investigation of that offence the police had recovered 16 dead bodies on 2.11.84. The allegations regarding 7 more deaths were also found true and police had arrested persons suspected to be involved in those killings. Even though I was moving in the area and similarly other police officers were also moving in the area no dead body was seen by them and by me. But during the investigation the dead bodies were found from within the houses of the victims. I cannot say exactly whether the houses of those victims were burnt on 1st or 2nd November, 1984. very probably, they might have been burnt in the night between 1.11.84 and 2.11.84. It is true that the incidents which had taken place after the registration of FIRs were also included with those FIRs. Except the places from where the dead bodies were recovered, as mentioned in the two FIRs (276/84 and 277/84), I had not found any dead body at any other place. It is true that the FIR registered on 13.11.84 ( 282/84 ) was in respect of the incident which had taken place on 2.11.84. It is true that during the investigation of FIR No. 282 it had come out that 50 more deaths had taken place on 2.11.84. However, I say that not a single dead body was recovered by the police. If it is stated in the reply to the questionnaire that during the investigation of FIR No.282, dead bodies were found then that is not correct. During the investigation of FIR No.275 also no dead body was recovered. No dead bodies was recovered during investigation of FIR No. 278 also. One of the four persons alleged to have died in FIR No.278/84 had succumbed to his injuries in the hospital. No dead body were found during the investigation of FIR No.287. All the dead bodies that were recovered by the police were almost totally burnt. Some of the dead bodies were complete and in some cases only certain limbs were found. It is true that a message is received from Police Control Room (PCR) at 6.45 on 2.11.84 that some dead bodies were lying in block no.C8 and B1 of Yamuna Vihar. I say that pursuant to that information, I, IO and other police officers visited that place and dead bodies were found within the houses. It is only after this message was received, we had come to know about those deaths. It is not correct to say that after receiving the information I had sent SI Mani Ram and I had not gone to that place. It is true that I had sent SI Mani Ram to that place as per the Daily Diary entry at 45-B. I had also gone there. After receiving that information I reached to that place after 36 minutes. I can point out the time when I had left the police station to that place after receiving the information from the radio log book. I had not come across any victim of the riotious incident or any sikh on 2.11.84. I had also not come across any sikh women on 2.11.84. On 2.11.84 the mobs were everywhere on the roads. I had come to know about various incidents which had taken place on 2.11.84 after I had gone to see those places. I had seen some shops and vehicles burning. I had visited the houses which were burnt or were in the process of burning. But I had not entered those houses to find out whether there were any survivors but I had rescued those persons who were outside and requesting for help. Earlier I had stated that I had not met any sikh on 2.11.84, now I say that I had not met any sikh on the road but I had come across them when I had gone to visit burning houses or shops after the invidents. I used to leave one constable near the place of the incident and take the injured or the person requesting for help to the Nanaksar Relief Camp. I had not made any inquiries from them about any body left inside those burning houses or shops. I had removed such affected persons from Yamunu Vihar, Bhajanpura, Gonda and Moujpur. There were males also in the affected persons so removed to the relief camps. The males and females were almost in equal number ; some of them were taken to the police station by way of rescue operation. My superior officers had visited the area on all the days that is between 31.10.84 to 4.11.84. Addl. CP and DCP had also visited my area. I was conveying information regarding the situation within my area to my senior officers. I had demanded additional force. Those demands were made right from 1.11.84. The military had come in my area on 2.11.84. The military had not resorted to firing. A message was received in the Police Station at 4.20 AM that a quarrel was going on at Bhajanpura. SI Mani Ram was sent to that place and at 5.10 AM he reported back that no quarrel was going at that place. I had gone to Bhajanpura at about 4.40 PM on 2.11.84. It is not correct to say that at about 5.00 PM the Sikhs in the B-Block were defending their person and properties and the police had asked them to go inside their houses. When I reached Bhajanpura I had not seen a group of Sikhs standing outside. I had also not noticed any mob quarreling with Sikhs. It is incorrect to say that 10 to 15 dead bodies were brought in tempo to the Police Station on 1.11.84. I had received a message that Sikh police officers were not to be sent for law and order duty but they should be assigned duty in the Police Station. No duty was assigned to SI, Harbans Singh on 1.11.84 and therefore no arm was issued to him. No body was injured as a result of firing by the police on 2.11.84 and 3.11.84 The persons who were rescued and brought to the Police Station were brought their either on 2.11.84 or 3.11.84. The persons who were brought there were questioned by the police. On the basis of the statement given by one Mr. Maan, an offence was also registered. Only one case was registered and that was of Shri Maan. The offence on the basis of the statement of Shri Maan was registered on 13.11.84. In the report of the DCP it is mentioned that 30 deaths had taken place within the area of Yamunapuri Police Station. That was on the basis of the dead bodies recovered. I had made efforts to find out dead bodies from the burnt houses after 5.11.84. After the incidents, during the investigation I had visited all the places. I had not found any dead body thereafter. I had also not recovered burnt flesh or bones. I had not collected any samples from the burnt houses as it was the job of Investigating Officer (IO). I cannot say whether IOs had collected such samples. I had not given any directions to IO to collect any samples. I do not know whether IOs had taken the photograph of burnt houses. I know that some IOs had called for the photographer. I cannot say at this stage whether I had enquired from the IO if he had got the photographs taken. I must have given the directions to the IOs. It is not written in the case diaries that I had given such instructions. I and other police officers had inquired as to where the dead bodies were but we had not received satisfactory answer from the persons reporting about those deaths. Even though no dead bodies were recovered, the statements of the complainants were treated as true that more than 30 deaths had taken place. Only the IOs can say what efforts were made by them to trace the dead bodies. I had told the IOs to make full efforts to find out the dead bodies. I do not know if the IO has recorded the instructions in the case diary. Read over and found correct
( RAMESH PAL SINGH )
( G.T. NANAVATI )
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