Doctors nail police lie in Massay case

The Delhi Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna today ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident. The inquiry is to be conducted by Additional Commissioner (Vigilance) R K Niyogi. The Lt Governor, who also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 10,000 to Massay and issued strict instructions to the Delhi police to exercise restraint and caution while dealing with such situations in future.

Sources said that the report of specially constituted board of doctors sealed the fate of the police officials who assaulted Massay. The Delhi Police had earlier sought a second medical opinion on the nature of injuries suffered by Massay after the first one conducted on the night of the incident revealed some descrepancies. The medical examination, which was conducted this evening by a high-level board of doctors from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) headed by Associate Professor in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Dr O P Murthy, has further concluded that the “statement of the victim was in keeping with the nature of injuries suffered by him during the assault.”

Sources in the police said that the team of doctors comprising, apart from Murthy, Dr Sartaj, a dental surgeon and Casualty Medical Officer from AIIMS visited Massay’s New Friends Colony house this afternoon to conduct the examination. The team reportedly found that the injuries were of a serious nature and had been inflicted with blunt objects such as sticks, lathis and batons.

The team of doctors also found that five of the victim’s front teeth were indeed damaged as the result of grievous blows inflicted on his face. While two teeth were missing, three others were partially broken. Interestingly, the medical examination conducted on Massay by doctors at the AIIMS casualty did not find any of his teeth broken. It also stated that the victim had received only “minor lacerations” on the face and tried to underplay the seriousness of his injuries. This, sources said, was a brazen attempt by the guilty police officials to cover their tracks.

Massay’s son, Mark, said today that the medical examination report on the night of the incident was not signed by the doctors on duty at the AIIMS casualty.

The report of the board of doctors — which was later in the evening submitted to the crime cell of the south district police — records as many as 30 injuries suffered by Massay. While approximately half of them were the result of the victim being dragged on a rough surface, the rest were clearly the result of grievous blows inflicted on him with blunt objects. On the basis of the examination of the wounds, the board of doctors also concluded that the injuries were four days old.

After thrashing Massay, officials of the Nizamuddin police station took Massey to the AIIMS where apparently they told the doctors on duty that the victim had met with an accident.

Gujral orders probe, Court seeks report

In a suo motu action, the Delhi High Court today took cognisance of the reported assault of an executive by policemen here on Friday and issued notice for May 16 to the Central and Delhi governments, the Police Commissioner and the National Security Guards to report on the truth of the incident.

Prime Minister I K Gujral, in Male, ordered an immediate inquiry into the police assault on Martin Massey who was beaten up for straying into the PM’s motorcade route on Friday night. Gujral expressed “concern and regret” at the incident and directed the cabinet secretary to review the PM’s security arrangements in order to make it less obtrusive and minimise inconvenience to the people.

A division bench consisting of acting Chief Justice Mahinder Narain and Justice S K Mahajan also issued notice to the Times of India, which reported the assault, and the officer in charge of the Prime Minister’s security. According to the daily’s front-page report, a group of policmen allegedly waylaid an executive of a private firm, Martin Massay, for straying into the route of the Prime Minister’s motorcade on Friday night and thrashed him mercilessly. The executive, who thought that the PM’s convoy had already passed, was chased by policemen and stopped near Nizamuddin police station.

He was allegedly mercilessly beaten up by a group of about ten policemen.The incident also evoked sharp reactions today with Parliament and Government taking a serious view of the incident. Delhi’s Lt Governor Tejendra Khanna ordered an inquiry by senior additional commissioner of olice (vigilance) and an ex-gratia payment of Rs 10,000 to Martin Massay.