New Delhi: A preliminary enquiry was on Wednesday ordered by a Delhi court in a complaint seeking registration of FIR against city Transport Minister and others alleging that the December 16 gang-rape incident had occurred due to their "corrupt" activities.
Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal directed the crime branch of Delhi Police to conduct the enquiry within four weeks and and submit its report by April 4.
RTI activist Vivek Garg had sought registration of FIR against the Transport Minister, the Transport Commissioner and others for allegedly committing offences of corruption, cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy.
The court said instead of FIR, preliminary enquiry has to be conducted in accordance with a Supreme Court judgment.
The judge said the apex court judgment has made it clear that whenever senior officials are named in a complaint, a preliminary inquiry has to be conducted before directing registration of FIR.
Earlier in the day, DCP Crime Branch Kumar Gyanesh appeared before the court in pursuance of its summons.
He told the court that an FIR has already been registered against Dinesh Yadav, the owner of the bus in which the 23-year-old girl was gangraped and the police is already probing the role of transport department officials in issuing him permits and licences on the basis of forged documents.
Garg`s counsel Jairam and Ajay Goel, however, contended that their allegations are different from the FIR already registered by the police.
Yadav, 35, was arrested on January 2 and booked for cheating, criminal conspiracy and giving false statement on oath. He had allegedly submitted false information to the State Transport Department to get the registration certificate and the permit for the bus.
PTI
