Maoist links case: Every police goof-up caught by High Court

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court which acquitted Delhi University professor G N Saibaba and five others in the Maoist case under UAPA not only upheld the validity of the trial under UAPA but also exposed grave flaws in the police investigation These flaws suggest potential evidence tampering to incriminate Saibaba and the other accusedThe detailed judgment of the HC reveals numerous lapses by the police including using illiterate individuals such as sweepers and barbers as witnesses discrepancies in ink usage in the FIR inconsistencies in arrest dates and lack of proper documentation such as failure to mention am and pm during the arrest not bringing the CDR records on record Additionally the absence of seizure videography and inconsistencies in Facebook screenshot dates further cast doubt on the integrity of the investigationFormer Delhi University professor G N Saibaba is seen with his wife Vasantha Kumari outside the Nagpur Central Jail in 2016 File picPTIThe prosecution alleged that the accused were involved in a larger criminal conspiracy with individuals not under arrest planning to wage war against the Government of India Seizures from different sets of accused revealed their alleged involvement with terrorist organisations CPI Maoist and its frontal organisation RDF The court scrutinized the prosecutionrsquos case and identified numerous lapses by the Gadchiroli Police and ripped them apartAlso Read DU Prof GN Saibaba finally acquitted after losing 3588 daysThe court examined the arrest and seizure of three accused Mahesh Kariman Tirki Pandu Narote and Hem Mishra According to the police they were arrested on August 22 2013 at Aheri bus stand where incriminating documents were allegedly found However the prosecution claimed that Mishra was arrested two days earlier at Balarasha railway station The defence argued that this discrepancy suggests false implication by the policeFIR kept blankThe court order highlights several discrepancies in the case It points out that FIR columns were initially left blank and filled later indicating manipulation Additionally errors in the arrest panchnama cast doubt on its authenticity Regarding PW1 Santosh Bawne a home guard the court questions his reliability noting his past involvement as a panch witness Furthermore the court observes that Bawne being illiterate lacked understanding of seized electronic gadgets It suggests that alternative independent panch witnesses could have been easily obtained from the bustling Aheri bus standQuestioning to FIR in 3 hrsThe court order scrutinizes the short timeframe between arrest panchnama and FIR registration questioning the prosecutionrsquos claim of authenticity ldquoAll preliminary steps within just 15 minutesrdquo the court noted calling it improbableDiscrepancies in FIR entryFurthermore discrepancies in Column No 3b and c of the printed FIR including overwriting raised doubts The prosecution failed to provide an explanation deepening the suspicion the court remarkedDifferent dates inks timeThe court observed discrepancies in the arrest panchnamas noting differences in handwriting and ink Therersquos doubt regarding the claimed interrogation date of August 20 Witness Atmaram who met the accused at the railway station was supposed to hand over cash as per a naxal leaderrsquos instructions The defence argues that Atmaram should have been made an accused instead of a witness if he was delivering cash as alleged by the policeCDR not shown on recordThe defence argued that the police suppressed the CDR of accused Mahesh Tirki and Pandu Narotersquos mobile SIMs which would reveal their tower locations at Gadchiroli Police Headquarters during the alleged period The court noted this as a basis for doubting the prosecutionrsquos case regarding the arrest and seizureMeanwhile discrepancies were exposed in the policersquos claim of seizing incriminating material from Mishrarsquos Facebook profile Screenshots allegedly taken during the arrest were found to be dated before the arrest casting doubt on the authenticity of the seizure panchnamasThe court highlighted discrepancies in the arrest of Prashant Rahi and Vijay Tirki noting that the panch witness Umaji Chandankhede admitted to being illiterate and had previously worked as a sweeper at Aheri police station This raises doubts about his understanding of the seizure panchnamaIlliterate barber as panchSimilar irregularities were found in the search seizure and arrest of DU professor GN Saibaba The court noted that the panch witness called during the search was a barber outside Delhi University despite others including students being present in the university casting doubt on his credibility Despite the presence of senior officers the video recorded during the searches was never brought on record raising further suspicions