Delhi cops guilty
Violated law, says Delhi Government probe
By : Gilvester Assary
Update: 2015-11-05 05:41 GMT
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The inquiry conducted by the Delhi government into the Kerala House beef raid has found that the Delhi police were guilty of violating the provisions of Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act (DACP) Act, 1994.
The inquiry panel has recommended a series of steps, including Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), to prevent such incidents in future. The inquiry conducted by Dr Rajiv Khosla, Director, Animal Husbandry, concluded that the Delhi police entry into the Kerala House on October 26 could not be construed as a visit for the enforcement of law and order. The Delhi police’s second visit after 20 minutes was totally unethical, it said.
“It has been proved beyond doubt that the police team, which visited Kerala House and its canteen on October 26, did not apprise the Resident Commissioner of Kerala and seek permission to enter the premises. It did not contact the competent authority as per section 2 (b) of DACP Act, 1994 and draw any samples out of the food material suspected to be cow meat,” the report said.
The Delhi Police violated Section 2 (b) of the DACP Act 1994 which clearly states that the competent authority means Director, Animal Husbandry, Delhi Government. The police also violated provisions enumerated in chapter 5, legal provisions ; section 7,8,9 ad 11 of DACP Act since the Delhi police had no authority to enter, enquire and search the alleged presence and sale of cow meat in the canteen.
Under Section 11(3) of the DACP Act, sub inspector level officer and above of the Delhi police have power to enter, stop and search or authorise any person to enter, stop and search any vehicle used or intended to be used for the export of agricultural cattle and not for the purpose of investigation of a complaint of alleged serving of beef. The inquiry officer has slammed the Delhi police for refusing to join the probe despite being given proper notice and also a questionnaire. The Delhi police attitude was not good for functional democracy and implementation of various Acts, rules and regulations on the ground, the officer said.
The panel recommended campaigns to create awareness about the provisions of DACP Act, 1994 among the citizens of Delhi in general and Delhi police personnel in particular.
It suggested notification of the names of all the veterinary officers of Animal Husbandry Department as per section 3 of the Act for effective implementation of the same. It suggested sensitisation of Delhi police personnel and veterinary officers about following proper protocol while inspecting various state houses and hotels for the enforcement of the provisions of DACP Act, 1994.
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