'Jessica Lal case major embarrassment for force'

Delhi Police Commissioner K K Paul has ordered an internal vigilance probe into the lapses in the investigations committed in the Jessica Lal murder case that led to the acquittal of all the accused persons, including Manu Sharma, the prime accused.

Jessica Lal case: Cops in trouble

Manu is alleged to have shot dead Jessica Lal, a model, who was acting as a bar tender at a restaurant run by socialite Bina Ramani on the night of April 29,1999.

Speaking to rediff.com on Monday, Paul said the judgment had come as a major embarrassment for the force and hence a serious probe was needed to find out where the investigations went wrong and fix the responsibility.

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"I wrote a letter to the then commissioner of police in 2001. That was five years ago. Now the judgment has come and it is important that we concentrate on the order of the court and see who were the people involved in investigating the matter, who was the supervisory officers and what decisions were taken," he said.

He admitted that the Union home ministry had been in touch with the Delhi police in this case. "It is an important case and has figured in the parliament. Naturally the home ministry would be asking for the report from us," he said.

Complete Coverage: Jessica Lal Case

On whether there can be a re-trial in the case, Paul said, "This is for the courts to decide. We would fix our end."

Delhi high court, taking a suo-moto notice of the acquittal of all the accused persons, had summoned the Delhi police commissioner to explain how such a shoddy investigation was done in a murder case where all the accused got away scot-free. The matter is likely to come up for hearing in the middle of April.