Twenty-six former IPS officers have written a letter in response to their former colleague Julio Riberio’s letter which had cast aspersions over the Delhi riots probe.
Delhi Police has registered 751 FIRs in the Delhi riots case. The riots had broken out in Delhi’s northeast area in the last week of February (File photo from PTI)
As many as 26 former police officers have written a letter slamming their former colleague Julio Riberio for casting aspersions over the Delhi Police’s riot probe.
Ribeiro, a former Mumbai Police chief, recently wrote a letter to Delhi Police chief S N Shrivastava, questioning the fairness of the investigation in the Delhi riots case. While the Delhi Police chief has written back, defending the probe as impartial and evidence-based, the 26 former IPS officers have slammed Ribeiro for supporting people with ‘anti-India and communal narrative’.
In their letter, ex-IPS officers said that Ribeiro and his associates are backing “people like Umar Khalid who is known to have given the slogan – Bharat ki Barbadi Tak Jung Rahegi”.
The ex-IPS officers said that Ribeiro knows that there is a due process of law, and no one is above the law.
“The Delhi Police has every right and duty to investigate the role of any such person, and the custodial investigation is a part of due process of law. The accused has his rights under the law to seek anticipatory bail or a regular bail, as the case may be, and the right to a fair trial where he can prove himself innocent,” they said.
The letter by former IPS officers claimed that Ribeiro or any other former officer has not right “to suspect or question the integrity and professionalism of their successors in the Indian Police Service, and in turn demoralise them”.
“Such posturing and adverse commentary by such officers may demotivate the police officers and dilute their firm resolve to act against the criminals, including those who incite communal divide in India by instigating riots,” they said.
The letter was signed by several former DGPs, Addl DGPs, at least two former IB officials, three ex-IGPs.
