Four police personnel posted with the Special Cell received out-of-turn promotion for their work in Northeast Delhi riots case. The four police personnel were a part of an investigating team that arrested 21, including former JNU student Umar Khalid, Jamia Coordination Committee’s media coordinator Safoora Zargar, and Pinjra Tod’s Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal.
Delhi Police had registered a total of 755 cases in the riots that went on in February last year, of which 50 murder cases were transferred to the crime branch. One case was transferred to the Special Cell, a report in The Indian Express said.
The special cell was initially probing conspiracy angle and riots and later it invoked Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and formed the SIT, comprising six teams of the New Delhi range.
“Recently, the in-charges of the six teams were asked by DCP (Special Cell) Pramod Kushwah to nominate one officer who has done extraordinary work during the investigation. Of the six names received, two were getting out-of-turn promotions in other cases, so their names were dropped. Four personnel have been promoted by the Delhi Police Commissioner,” a senior police officer reportedly said.
Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava, during a meeting with police personnel and their family on January 1, said that 135 police personnel have been given out-of-turn promotions while 1700 have been arrested by the Crime branch and Northeast district police in the riots case.