Started on a sad note with continuous protests and public outcry over December 16 brutal gang rape and murder case of a 23-year-old physiotherapist, the year 2013 witnessed major changes in policing and approach of lawmakers towards the victims. Some new strategies were adopted to make that city safe for citizens, especially women.
However, the year also observed violent and heinous crimes across the city, including cases of sexual assault.
On February 25, two siblings -- Mansij (7) and his sister Yashbi (5) -- were abducted from Pandav Nagar and killed later and thrown in the bushes near Pragati Maidan. The incident left people in shock as the police handled the case with negligence. The perpetrator -- the victims’ uncle Amit Singh -- was in front of police but they could find his role in the kidnapping. It only after the bodies were recovered, police found Singh’s role and arrested him.
It was surprising to find December 16 rape case main accused Ram Singh hanging in Tihar Jail on March 11. The Tihar officials said that Singh hung himself using his clothes probably his own shirt. The manner in which the incident has unfolded brought forward conspiracy theories as it was unlikely for the accused to succeed in his suicide bid using his clothes and without any intervention.
The brazen daylight shooting of Deepak Bhardwaj, the richest candidate of the 2009 general elections, left Delhi horrified on March 26. Billionaire realtor and former BSP candidate Bhardwaj was shot dead by two assailants inside his 35-acre farmhouse-resort in Rajokri area. His younger son Nitesh and a lawyer Baljeet Sehrawat were behind murder and it was one the biggest contract conspiracy of amount Rs 5 crore in the history of Delhi.
But the brutal gang rape of a five-year-old girl in Gandhi Nagar on April 15 by her two neighbours and police callous attitude in probing the incident again invited public outcry where people started demanding resignation of then police chief Neeraj Kumar. The girl was recovered from neighbour house where she was left to die for four days.
On May 11, the murder of inspector with Delhi Police's anti-terror wing Badrish Dutt, 45, and his female friend Geeta Sharma, 45, who worked as a private detective, with gunshot injuries in her house in Sector 52 of Gurgaon left police in shock. The Gurgaon police said that Geeta first shot dead Badrish with his service revolver and then committed suicide. However, the police theory was doubted by various investigators.
Cracking Indian Premier League spot fixing with arrest of three Rajasthan Royals players Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan and punters on May 18, brought lot of accolades for the commissioner of police Neeraj Kumar. Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra and his business partner-friend Umesh Goenka were also questioned in connection with the spot-fixing scandal. The police also named Dawood Ibrahim and his aide Chhota Shakeel in the IPL spot fixing case.
Before retirement, police chief Neeraj Kumar ensured that chargesheet in IPL spot fixing case as well as much forgotten Hansie Cronje match fixing case will be filed. The charge sheets in both the cases were filed before retirement. Police filed chargesheet against Dawood Ibrahim, his aide Chhota Shakeel and others for their alleged involvement in the Indian Premier League spot-fixing case in which suspended cricketers S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were also arrested.
The verdict of 2008 Batla House encounter on July 25 where Shahzad Ahmad was found guilty of killing Delhi Police inspector Mohan Chand Sharma gave a morale boost to anti-terror wing of Delhi Police.
Seeing stunt biker’s menace in the national capital, the police announced in July that stern action would be taken against them. While stopping bikers to perform stunt in front of Winsor Place in New Delhi area on July 28, police fired at them where 19 year old Karan Pandey died in the incident. The incident received criticism from all front.
BS Bassi takes over as Delhi Police chief on July 31 and Neeraj Kumar left the office with teary eyes.
But the day he was retired, a 23 year-old student of Jawaharlal Nehru University axed his woman classmate, with whom he was having an affair, multiple times and later drank poison and slashed his neck. The woman has been ignoring him of late. He succumbed to injuries in hospital, while the girl is struggling for her life. The incident left academicians in shock and debate started over security in JNU.
On September 17, the mysterious death of a 21-year-old the US-based NRI Anmol Sarna pointed to rampant drug use by students. Six people, including two security guards and four of the victim's friends, were arrested but were later were granted bail.
On October 24, police made it clear that the city has no place for gangsters. The city’s top gangster Neetu Dabodia, carrying a reward of Rs 7 lakhs, was killed in an encounter with special cell. The incident took place near Grand hotel in Vasant kunj.
In the month of December, the suicide of a 55-year-old executive director of a NGO at Vasant Kunj brought back the new rape laws in lime-light. The executive director of Institute for Social Democracy -- Khurshid Anwar – jumped to death after he saw a video on a social networking site where a 23-year-old girl was campaigning against him alleging sexual assault.
The year ended with citizen friendly approach of the police where around 50 police officials were served noticed for not entertaining the victims.
Zero-tolerance against terrorism
The year started with a message zero-tolerance against terrorism. The convicted accused of 2001 Parliament attack Afzal Guru was secretly executed and buried inside the Tihar jail complex on February 9 morning.
With this ended the decade-long uncertainty over the execution of the surrendered militant from Sopore, Kashmir, as his mercy petition got caught up in a political slugfest between the Congress-led UPA government and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. Afzal Guru was woken up around 5 a.m. after which he offered namaz. He was served tea and medically examined before being taken to the gallows near his cell in jail number three.
After Afzal hanging, the security was stepped up at several places of the capital including the India Gate following a fresh terror alert was issued by the Home Ministry on February 24. The entry for common people was restricted near Amar Jawan Jyoti circle at India Gate in Central Delhi.
The anti-terror wing of Delhi Police caught a big catch after they managed to nab one of India's 20 most wanted terrorists, Abdul Karim Tunda, from the Indo-Nepal border on August 16. He was arrested with a Pakistani passport issued in January this year. Tunda, around 70 years old and wanted in 21 cases, is accused of masterminding over 40 bomb blasts in New Delhi, Panipat, Sonepat, Ludhiana, Kanpur and Varanasi between December 1996 and January 1998 that left 21 dead and over 400 injured. The police also said that Tunda had planned to carry out bombings in and around Delhi in 2010 at the time of the Commonwealth Games, but the plan was timely thwarted with the arrest of his accomplices who were supposed to carry out the attack. He is also accused of involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
Another big catch by anti-terror wing was a suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba operative Mohammed Shahid. He was arrested from Mewat in Haryana by Delhi Police on December 11 which claimed to have busted a terror module planning to attack prominent market places in the national capital.
Shahid was arrested from Nuh in Mewat. The terror module was spread across Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. A top LeT commander, identified as Javed Baluchi and believed to be operating from Pakistan, was their handler.
But the anti-terror wing received flak from various other investigative agencies on arrest of suspected Hizbul militant Liyaqat Shah. Shah's arrest on March 20 from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh had generated much controversy. While the Delhi Police insisted that he had entered India via Nepal to execute a terror attack similar to the Mumbai's 26/11 attack to coincide with the festival of Holi, the Jammu and Kashmir government said the 45-year-old was a militant who was headed home as part of an amnesty and rehabilitation scheme for men who had crossed over to Pakistan.
The case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency and his subsequent release on bail left them red faced.
Even Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah came out in open and criticised the Delhi police for arresting Liyaqat and under pressure from all the quarters, the Ministry of Home Affairs transferred the case to National Investigation Agency.
Changes in Law
Zero FIR
The police introduced zero-Fir concept this year. The much hyped rape case against self styled Godman, Asaram Bapu and his associates was filed in Delhi. Zero FIR was registered against Bapu and his associates by Delhi Police for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl at their Jodhpur based Ashram. The case was later transferred to Jodhpur police.
Big Catch
The Delhi Police arrested the self styled Godman Asaram Bapu’s son Narayan Sai, wanted in a rape case in Gujarat, on December 4 by Delhi Police after a two-month search in many states. He caught along with his aides near Haryana Punjab border while trying to enter from Delhi disguised as a Sikh man. The police said the 41-year-old stayed in Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh as he hid from the police, changing his appearance frequently.
Court Changes
Fast-track courts are set up to hear rape cases, new laws were passed to ensure minimum 20 years imprisonment sentences for rape and the death penalty for rapes where the victim dies or is left in a vegetative state. Molestation cases are now non bailable offence.
However, the year also observed violent and heinous crimes across the city, including cases of sexual assault.
On February 25, two siblings -- Mansij (7) and his sister Yashbi (5) -- were abducted from Pandav Nagar and killed later and thrown in the bushes near Pragati Maidan. The incident left people in shock as the police handled the case with negligence. The perpetrator -- the victims’ uncle Amit Singh -- was in front of police but they could find his role in the kidnapping. It only after the bodies were recovered, police found Singh’s role and arrested him.
It was surprising to find December 16 rape case main accused Ram Singh hanging in Tihar Jail on March 11. The Tihar officials said that Singh hung himself using his clothes probably his own shirt. The manner in which the incident has unfolded brought forward conspiracy theories as it was unlikely for the accused to succeed in his suicide bid using his clothes and without any intervention.
The brazen daylight shooting of Deepak Bhardwaj, the richest candidate of the 2009 general elections, left Delhi horrified on March 26. Billionaire realtor and former BSP candidate Bhardwaj was shot dead by two assailants inside his 35-acre farmhouse-resort in Rajokri area. His younger son Nitesh and a lawyer Baljeet Sehrawat were behind murder and it was one the biggest contract conspiracy of amount Rs 5 crore in the history of Delhi.
But the brutal gang rape of a five-year-old girl in Gandhi Nagar on April 15 by her two neighbours and police callous attitude in probing the incident again invited public outcry where people started demanding resignation of then police chief Neeraj Kumar. The girl was recovered from neighbour house where she was left to die for four days.
On May 11, the murder of inspector with Delhi Police's anti-terror wing Badrish Dutt, 45, and his female friend Geeta Sharma, 45, who worked as a private detective, with gunshot injuries in her house in Sector 52 of Gurgaon left police in shock. The Gurgaon police said that Geeta first shot dead Badrish with his service revolver and then committed suicide. However, the police theory was doubted by various investigators.
Cracking Indian Premier League spot fixing with arrest of three Rajasthan Royals players Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan and punters on May 18, brought lot of accolades for the commissioner of police Neeraj Kumar. Rajasthan Royals owner Raj Kundra and his business partner-friend Umesh Goenka were also questioned in connection with the spot-fixing scandal. The police also named Dawood Ibrahim and his aide Chhota Shakeel in the IPL spot fixing case.
Before retirement, police chief Neeraj Kumar ensured that chargesheet in IPL spot fixing case as well as much forgotten Hansie Cronje match fixing case will be filed. The charge sheets in both the cases were filed before retirement. Police filed chargesheet against Dawood Ibrahim, his aide Chhota Shakeel and others for their alleged involvement in the Indian Premier League spot-fixing case in which suspended cricketers S Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan were also arrested.
The verdict of 2008 Batla House encounter on July 25 where Shahzad Ahmad was found guilty of killing Delhi Police inspector Mohan Chand Sharma gave a morale boost to anti-terror wing of Delhi Police.
Seeing stunt biker’s menace in the national capital, the police announced in July that stern action would be taken against them. While stopping bikers to perform stunt in front of Winsor Place in New Delhi area on July 28, police fired at them where 19 year old Karan Pandey died in the incident. The incident received criticism from all front.
BS Bassi takes over as Delhi Police chief on July 31 and Neeraj Kumar left the office with teary eyes.
But the day he was retired, a 23 year-old student of Jawaharlal Nehru University axed his woman classmate, with whom he was having an affair, multiple times and later drank poison and slashed his neck. The woman has been ignoring him of late. He succumbed to injuries in hospital, while the girl is struggling for her life. The incident left academicians in shock and debate started over security in JNU.
On September 17, the mysterious death of a 21-year-old the US-based NRI Anmol Sarna pointed to rampant drug use by students. Six people, including two security guards and four of the victim's friends, were arrested but were later were granted bail.
On October 24, police made it clear that the city has no place for gangsters. The city’s top gangster Neetu Dabodia, carrying a reward of Rs 7 lakhs, was killed in an encounter with special cell. The incident took place near Grand hotel in Vasant kunj.
In the month of December, the suicide of a 55-year-old executive director of a NGO at Vasant Kunj brought back the new rape laws in lime-light. The executive director of Institute for Social Democracy -- Khurshid Anwar – jumped to death after he saw a video on a social networking site where a 23-year-old girl was campaigning against him alleging sexual assault.
The year ended with citizen friendly approach of the police where around 50 police officials were served noticed for not entertaining the victims.
Zero-tolerance against terrorism
The year started with a message zero-tolerance against terrorism. The convicted accused of 2001 Parliament attack Afzal Guru was secretly executed and buried inside the Tihar jail complex on February 9 morning.
With this ended the decade-long uncertainty over the execution of the surrendered militant from Sopore, Kashmir, as his mercy petition got caught up in a political slugfest between the Congress-led UPA government and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. Afzal Guru was woken up around 5 a.m. after which he offered namaz. He was served tea and medically examined before being taken to the gallows near his cell in jail number three.
After Afzal hanging, the security was stepped up at several places of the capital including the India Gate following a fresh terror alert was issued by the Home Ministry on February 24. The entry for common people was restricted near Amar Jawan Jyoti circle at India Gate in Central Delhi.
The anti-terror wing of Delhi Police caught a big catch after they managed to nab one of India's 20 most wanted terrorists, Abdul Karim Tunda, from the Indo-Nepal border on August 16. He was arrested with a Pakistani passport issued in January this year. Tunda, around 70 years old and wanted in 21 cases, is accused of masterminding over 40 bomb blasts in New Delhi, Panipat, Sonepat, Ludhiana, Kanpur and Varanasi between December 1996 and January 1998 that left 21 dead and over 400 injured. The police also said that Tunda had planned to carry out bombings in and around Delhi in 2010 at the time of the Commonwealth Games, but the plan was timely thwarted with the arrest of his accomplices who were supposed to carry out the attack. He is also accused of involvement in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
Another big catch by anti-terror wing was a suspected Lashkar-e-Toiba operative Mohammed Shahid. He was arrested from Mewat in Haryana by Delhi Police on December 11 which claimed to have busted a terror module planning to attack prominent market places in the national capital.
Shahid was arrested from Nuh in Mewat. The terror module was spread across Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. A top LeT commander, identified as Javed Baluchi and believed to be operating from Pakistan, was their handler.
But the anti-terror wing received flak from various other investigative agencies on arrest of suspected Hizbul militant Liyaqat Shah. Shah's arrest on March 20 from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh had generated much controversy. While the Delhi Police insisted that he had entered India via Nepal to execute a terror attack similar to the Mumbai's 26/11 attack to coincide with the festival of Holi, the Jammu and Kashmir government said the 45-year-old was a militant who was headed home as part of an amnesty and rehabilitation scheme for men who had crossed over to Pakistan.
The case was transferred to the National Investigation Agency and his subsequent release on bail left them red faced.
Even Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah came out in open and criticised the Delhi police for arresting Liyaqat and under pressure from all the quarters, the Ministry of Home Affairs transferred the case to National Investigation Agency.
Changes in Law
Zero FIR
The police introduced zero-Fir concept this year. The much hyped rape case against self styled Godman, Asaram Bapu and his associates was filed in Delhi. Zero FIR was registered against Bapu and his associates by Delhi Police for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl at their Jodhpur based Ashram. The case was later transferred to Jodhpur police.
Big Catch
The Delhi Police arrested the self styled Godman Asaram Bapu’s son Narayan Sai, wanted in a rape case in Gujarat, on December 4 by Delhi Police after a two-month search in many states. He caught along with his aides near Haryana Punjab border while trying to enter from Delhi disguised as a Sikh man. The police said the 41-year-old stayed in Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh as he hid from the police, changing his appearance frequently.
Court Changes
Fast-track courts are set up to hear rape cases, new laws were passed to ensure minimum 20 years imprisonment sentences for rape and the death penalty for rapes where the victim dies or is left in a vegetative state. Molestation cases are now non bailable offence.
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