Massey was not beaten up by Delhi cops: CBI

Martin Massey, who claimed he was beaten up by the Delhi police for straying into the prime minister's route, was lying, claims the Central Bureau of Investigation. The agency also castigated the Delhi police for its failure to check the entry of an unauthorised vehicle into the path of the prime minister's motorcade.

The 42-page CBI inquiry report held that the ''conduct'' of Inspector V K Sharma, the pilot of the VVIP motorcade, called for departmental action.

The CBI report filed before the Delhi high court recently said, ''Despite heavy presence of policemen on the route from Kaka Nagar crossing to Nizamuddin roundabout in central Delhi, Massey still managed to sneak onto the route before clearance for the normal traffic movement was given by the security agencies.''

The CBI wondered how Massey could stray into the PM's route, despite heavy security arrangements. ''This is a serious lapse and needs to be investigated by the agencies concerned as the recurrence of such incidents needs to be avoided in the overall interest of VVIP security,'' stated the CBI report, filed after a three-month investigation.

The CBI took up the investigation following a directive of the division bench of the Delhi high court.

The division bench, comprising Justices Mahinder Narain and S K Mahajan, asked the CBI to file its report on the incident by July 11. However, the agency sought more time, promising to file the report by August 15.

During its investigation, the CBI examined 105 people and collected 54 documents which are relevant to the matter.

The investigation revealed that Martin Massey's scooter was chased by a white Gypsy, later identified as that of Inspector Sharma. Sharma earlier denied he had chased Massey or had made any announcement on the public address system to stop Massey.

The CBI said that about three dozen police personnel, deployed on duty in the relevant sector on May 9, were examined and one of them said he had seen the inspector's vehicle parked near Massey's scooter after the ''accident''.

It can, therefore, be inferred that Inspector Sharma was chasing Massey. However, there is no evidence to indicate that he had hit Massey's scooter from behind. Forensic experts back this view, the report said, adding it was the inspector's duty to immediately take Massey to the hospital, especially since the VVIP had already passed through the area.

The inspector did not do so and thereby exhibited conduct unbecoming of an officer, the CBI said, adding that due credit should be given to Sub-Inspector Bhikan Lal Sharma, who immediately rushed to Massey's aid on being informed by constable Ajit Singh.

The CBI stated, ''It is evident that Massey sneaked into the Zakir Hussain Marg unauthorisedly before clearance for traffic movement was given by the police. He was chased by the police Gypsy of Inspector Sharma and advised to stop over the public address system, but Massey did not heed the advice.''

In view of the facts, the CBI recommended that the conduct of Inspector Sharma should be brought to the notice of superior police authorities for action as they deemed fit.

Constable Jagdish Prasad of the Rajasthan Armed Constabulary, who was deployed near the side lane of Chakkar Wali Masjid where the accident actually took place, had tried to stop Massey, lost his balance and fallen, injuring himself, the CBI said.

According to the medical expert opinion, the injuries sustained by him are consistent with a fall in a road accident and do not appear to have been caused by police beating as alleged.

The CBI, quoting experts of the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory, said Massey's scooter was not hit by any vehicle from behind. The tear marks on Massey's clothing, particularly the underclothing, could not have been caused by the lathi blows or rifle butts.

It is also surprising that Massey did not complain of alleged beating by the police to any public authority till May 13. He has not explained why he delayed reporting the matter, either in the complaint or in his statement to the CBI.

The high court bench, which has been monitoring the investigation, will hear the arguments of Additional Solicitor General Abhisekh Manu Singhvi, representing the CBI, and senior counsel P N Lekhi, the amicus curiae in the case, when the matter comes up for hearing on August 28.

UNI