Journalism of Courage
Special secretary to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, R N Sharma, has sent a note to Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik highlighting that the control room of Raj Niwas was not informed about the shootout in which four people were killed, in north Delhi’s Burari area on June 18. The shooting, police had said, was the fallout of a gang rivalry including gangster Jitender Gogi, and had claimed the lives of two bystanders. Following the note, Delhi Police have initiated an internal enquiry in the matter, it is learnt.
The note was sent by Sharma days after Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba directed Patnaik to conduct an audit of the reaction time of PCR calls, and asked them to show both reports — one from an independent agency and another by Delhi Police.
Four persons were killed in Burari’s Sant Nagar area in the shootout. “Taking a strict view of the incident, Sharma, in his note to Patnaik, said that it was standard procedure for Delhi Police to provide details of heinous crimes to the L-G’s control room. However, he highlighted that they were not informed by the PCR about this incident,” a senior police officer said.
Sources told The Sunday Express that Patnaik forwarded the note to special CP (communication) and the officers concerned. “The communication unit of Delhi Police got rattled after learning about the lapse, following which they initiated an enquiry,” the officer said.
Explaining the procedure, the officer said it was part of protocol that the communication unit updates several agencies about heinous crimes after receiving a PCR call. According to police, the crimes for which the L-G’s control room is supposed to be informed include prominent murder cases, incidents of rioting and cases which can impact the larger law-and-order situation in the capital.
