Night of shame continues…..

In the interim, Nirbhaya’s condition continued to deteriorate. It was decided at the highest level in the government to shift her to Singapore for better medical care. On 27 December she was flown in an air ambulance to Singapore and admitted to Mount Elizabeth Hospital. Despite everyone’s best efforts and her brave battle for life, Nirbhaya breathed her last on 29 December. An autopsy was performed by a coroner’s court in Singapore. Her mortal remains were brought back to Delhi and cremated by her parents at Dwarka under heavy police cover. Needless to say, from the moment the body arrived to the time it was cremated, the atmosphere in the city was tense and we were all on tenterhooks. Numerous police officers at different levels put their best foot forward to ensure that everything was peaceful.

The next big challenge was to file a charge sheet for the case at the earliest. The longer the case was pending investigation with the police, the longer wild speculations andrumour -mongering would carry on. However, preparing a charge sheet was not easy. Evidence related to the case was scattered in files and in the case diaries of several investigating officers. Similarly, scientific evidence in the form of forensic, medical and technical data collected during the investigation had yet to be collated. All the data had to be pieced together carefully and marshalled to establish a direct and unbreakable link between the crime and the criminals. Vivek Gogia, the joint commissioner of police, Southern Range, informed me of his intention to get this work done and prepare the charge sheet within ten days. I was happy to learn that my team could achieve this difficult target in such a short while. Vivek and DCP Chhaya, ably assisted by Pramod Kushwaha, inspectors Rajender Singh, Atul Kumar, Anil Kumar and several others including the investigating officer Pratibha, did an excellent job of preparing the charge sheet and filing it in court within ten days of the last arrest.

To be continued……