Delhi rape: Cops apologise to HC, furnish names

The Delhi Police today apologised unconditionally to the Delhi High Court for submitting an inadequate report on the status of its investigations into the brutal gang-rape of a young woman on a bus in mid-December, which led to her death.

The police have now submitted a fresh report with the names of the policemen on patrol at the time when the incident happened.

On Wednesday, a division bench of Chief Justice D Murugesan and Justice V K Jain had hauled up the police for not providing the names of the policemen manning the police control room (PCR) van on duty there, despite its earlier query in this regard.

The irate judges had also asked why the top brass of the Delhi Police, including the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, should not face action, instead of just the Assistant Commissioner of Police, who has already been suspended.

The case has grabbed the attention of a nation where crimes against women are endemic and a daily occurrence, partly because of the blatant way in which the crime was committed in the national capital and partly because of its sheer brutality – the woman and her male friend were severely beaten with a metal rod before being dumped naked on the roadside.

The court had asked why the police appeared determined to protect officers responsible for the many lapses that facilitated the attack – the bus had tinted windows and curtains, which is illegal, but it nonetheless managed to clear several police check points even as the crime was in progress.