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Rediff.com  » News » I didn't take a day off during trial: Red Fort investigator

I didn't take a day off during trial: Red Fort investigator

By Onkar Singh in New Delhi
Last updated on: November 01, 2005 02:02 IST
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51-year-old inspector of Delhi Police Surinder Sandh is a happy man.

Sandh was the investigating officer in the Red Fort attack case in which the Karkarduma court upheld the charges he framed and awarded death sentence to the master mind of the attack Mohammad Arif alias Ashfaq of Lashkar-e- Taiba.

Two of his conspirators were awarded life sentence while a few others were given seven years of rigourous imprisonment on various counts.

"I am delighted that my hard work and honest work has paid off. We managed to arrest all the terrorists. All 225 witnesses enlisted, barring just one, stood by their statements," a visibly delighted Sandh told rediff.com at the police headquarters on Monday evening.

Sandh has braved many threats from several of accused.

"One of them said in the court that if the present trend continues, India would be heading for another split. Two judges-- O P Saini and M S Sabbarwal-- refused to try the case.

"Ashfaq even used filthy and abusive language against the judge during the trail that Sabbarwal wrote to the district and session judge that he would not be in a position to try the accused persons," he said.

Inspector Surinder's family members told him time and again why was he taking so much of risk with his life.

"Believe me I have not taken a day off during the trial because I was worried that in my absence they would get any favourable order passed," he said.

He was posted as station house officer of Kotwali when the terrorists struck at Red Fort the symbol of Indian Republic.

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Onkar Singh in New Delhi