Probe team real heroes,say police

Joint Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Vivek Gogia told Newsline that it was a matter of professional satisfaction for him. “My background as a doctor came in handy,and contributed to the final sentence,” he said,adding that the team of officials that investigated the case were the real “heroes”.

The then Commissioner of Delhi Police,Neeraj Kumar,is said to have minutely observed all stages of the cases,right from the swift arrests to the judicial proceeding and the investigation.

He has been credited for getting the chargesheet prepared in 19 days and is believed to have personally gone through each paragraph in just one night.

He said the verdict was a “triumph” for the police department. “Both the investigators and the prosecutors worked extremely hard. It is a moment of vindication of all that we stood for.”

He said the sentence would boost the morale of the department. “It was not an easy time for the police department,especially when I was asked to step down as commissioner… However,that personal attack encouraged us to work even harder,” he said.

“When the media was bombarding us with negative coverage and the public had turned against us,I told my officers,‘koi jaldi nai hai. tum aram se kaam karo. baki main sambhal lunga’,” he said.

Station House Officer Anil Sharma,who led the team from Vasant Vihar police station and is one of the investigating officers in the case,recalled how team would stay up all night to work. “It was not only brutal and barbaric,but came with public pressure,media pressure and much outrage. To perform in such circumstances becomes difficult,” he said.

Member of the Special Investigating Team,Rajinder Singh who was involved in all stages,said this case was no less than a “challenge”. It was a “do-or-die situation” for the team,he said.

The investigating officer Sub-Inspector Pratibha said the case had introduced them to new methods of investigation. “If every investigation is carried out in a similar manner,it would do wonders to the force,” she said.