How CBI officers `lost’ Mattoo’s socks

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 12: On January 25, the Delhi Police handed over the Priyadarshini Mattoo case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Additional Sessions Judge G P Thareja has observed in his judgment that for four days the CBI did not bother about finding out where the case property, that included her clothes, was. In the end, Mattoo’s woollen socks were reported missing.

“All (samples) were sealed along with other items noted in the post-mortem. Both (CBI Inspector N K Pathak, Delhi Police Inspector Lalit Mohan) were present at the time of the post-mortem examination. "Both are silent regarding the receipt of post-mortem report, clothes and the vaginal swabs. It is not deposed by Dr A K Sharma (of Safdarjung hospital) that he handed over the said articles to either of the two. It is not established who received exhibits between the two from the Safdarjung hospital. If none took the exhibits, then it is not established in whose possession the exhibits remained.”

“Thus custody of thearticles from January 25 to 29 is unexplained. No document of the alleged seizure has been prepared. There is no explanation as to why the seizure report was not prepared.”

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“According to CBI’s investigating officer A K Ohri, the case property was deposited in the Malkhana of the CBI on the same day. In the case of clothes of the victim and the vaginal swab and slides no impression of seals upon them is disclosed.

“All the items as were seized by A K Sharma have been described in the post-mortem report. Socks are also described and were sealed. But the socks were missing, indicating there was tampering with the exhibits.“The Prosecution (read CBI) has not satisfactorily accounted for the missing socks. It directs towards tampering or alteration or substitution of exhibits.

“The correspondence that has been exchanged between the laboratory and the CBI also does not mention the presence of socks in the parcel of clothes,” the judge held.