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BEFORE JUSTICE NANAVATI COMMISSION OF INQUIRY ( Witness No : 69 ) Name : Shri Ramesh Chander On SA In 1984 I was Sub-Inspector at Darya Gunj Police Station. I am now working as Addl. SHO at Chanakayapuri Police Station since 1st November, 2000. Today I have brought the original FIR register. On the basis thereof I say that only one FIR was registered at Chanakayapuri Police Station between 31.10.84 and 5.11.84. Its number is 296. It was registered on 4.11.84. I refer to file (which is now given exhibit No.W69/1) and say that the photocopy of the FIR is the correct copy of the original FIR. In November, 1984 Inspector Jagdish Singh was the SHO of the Chanakayapuri Police Station. He is not alive. After investigation a report was filed that the case was untraced. The FIR was in respect of attack on shop no.81, Yeshwant Place and also in respect to the attack on other shops at that place. Madam Yamin Hazarika was the ACP of Chanakayapuri Police Station. She is also not alive. I refer to file No.XXV/70/85 and say that it contains a report sent by ACP, Chanakayapuri to Principal, Police Training School. The report states the sequence of events which took place in the jurisdiction of Chanakayapuri Police Station between 31.10.84 and 2.11.1984. The report was sent on 15.12.84. ( and the same is Exhibit No.W69/2). I refer to file No.XXV/73 of 85 and say that it contains information relating to the incidents which took place within the jurisdiction of Chanakayapuri Police Station. It also contains the Duty Chart, the copies of Daily Diary Register entries and the copies of the FIRs. ( and the same is Exhibit No.W69/3). Read over and found correct
( RAMESH CHANDER )
( G.T. NANAVATI ) ( Witness No : 69 ) Name : Shri Ramesh Chander On SA After registration of the FIR, seven more complaints were received by the police station. They were also investigated alongwith the FIR. Three incidents had taken place at Kautilya Marg, two on SP Marg and one at Yashwant Place. All those incidents had taken place on 1.11.84. The police did have information on 1.11.84 with respect to the incident which had taken place at Yashwant Place. No preventive arrest were made by the Chanakayapuri Police. No person was arrested as accused in all those cases as they were untraced. The case was reported as untraced in January 1985. No incident of death was reported between 31.10.84 and 4.11.84. No case was reported about the Sikhs having caused hurt, to any person. By making proper deployment of police personnel preventive steps were taken. A picket of two Sub-Inspectors and four constables was posted at Yashwant Place. They were deployed on 2.11.84 at 8.00 AM. On 31.10.84 constables were posted at Yeshwant Place. Four constables were posted on 31.10.84 and 1.11.84 during day time. During night, 1 Head Constable and 2 Constables were posted. On 1.11.84 number of pickets were deployed and that details are contained in page no.32 to 35 of File Exhibit No.W69/3. Yashwant Place is spread over 2 Kms area. It has a Shopping Complex, Cinema Hall and other commercial places. During the investigation, articles worth Rs.47,000/- were recovered as abandoned goods. They were returned to the respective complainants. The looted and abandoned goods were found from Niti Marg Bus Stand and near Railway Line. The goods recovered from Niti Marg were on 6.11.84 and from near Railway Line on 7.11.84. Some more goods were also recovered from Railway Line near Vinay Marg. One end of the Niti Marg is very close to Yashwant Place. One end of the Vinay Marg is very close to the Yeshwant Place. There are some jhuggis near Sarojini Nagar Railway Line. The record shows that an effort was made on 4.11.84 to find out the looted goods. There is nothing on record to show that any announcement was made to the effect that if the looted goods are placed on the footpath by the persons looting the same then no action would be taken against them. It has not come to my knowledge as SI of police that any such instruction was given by any higher officer. On 2.11.84 about 10 rounds were fired by the police near Akbar Hotel which is at the Yashwant Place. The police had resorted to firing as some sikh taxi drivers and jhuggi dwellers had collected near that place. The police had not resorted to firing at any other place. Additional Police Force was requisitioned. The requisitioned was made by the New Delhi Control Room. The additional police force was requisitioned for the purpose of maintaining Law and Order at Teen Murti House. I cannot say from the record whether any requisition was made by the officer incharge of the police station. The file does not show any entry to the effect that SHO Parliament Street Police Station was asked to look after the incidents within the jurisdiction of Chanakayapuri Police Station. I am not able to find out any entry showing temporary deployment of SHO Parliament Street within the area of Chanakayapuri Police Station. There is no jhuggi near Akbar Hotel. Chanayaka Cinema and Akbar Hotel are adjoining to each other. I cannot say today where is the log book for the months of October and November, 84 maintained at the police station. I will enquire and inform the commission whether it is available at the police station or not. The DD entry 46 of 2.11.84 at Page No.93 recorded at 8.45 PM states that SI Mahipal Singh alongwith the other police personnel had gone to verify the information received on wireless about some sardars. I cannot say what that entry is about exactly because some of the words in it do not convey correct meaning. A copy of the said entry is also available at the page 21 of the same file. According to that entry SI Mahipal Singh after returning to the Police Station at about 11.00 PM had reported that when he had gone to the jhuggis near Chanayaka Cinema, public which had collected there informed him that some sardars were hiding in the jungle behind the first bridge. Even after he had implored those sardars to come out but nobody had come out. The public was however not satisfied and they were scared. Therefore, he had fired two rounds from his revolver after uttering words ‘Khabardar’ ‘Khabardar’. Thereafter, he had searched the entire area, no sardar was found there. Meanwhile, DCP, New Delhi had also arrived there and he had also fired 8 rounds in air. There is nothing on record that the firing was resorted to at the orders of the higher officers. The code sign G-2 ( Golf-2 ) would mean senior most officer next to the Commissioner of Police. The entry at page 97 of the log book of Connaught Place Police Station made at 20.45 Hrs. mentions that a message was received from G-2 that 50 to 60 sardars had collected near Chanayaka Cinema armed with weapons and if situation is not brought under control then firing may be resorted to. In order to control the crowd near Teen Murti House the police had lobbed tear gas shells. In no other area within the jurisdiction of the police station the tear gas shells were lobbed or lathicharge was ordered as no such occasion had arisen. I cannot say whether the shops at Yashwant Place were looted or burnt in the presence of the police as I have no personal knowledge about it. I cannot say why no FIR was registered in respect of the shops which were burnt and looted on 1.11.84 at Yashwant Place. I cannot say if all those cases were properly investigated or not as I was not the investigating officer nor I had an occasion to go through these papers. Read over and found correct ( RAMESH CHANDER )
( G.T. NANAVATI )
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