Death of 25-year old protesting farmer on January 26 during tractor rally not due to gun-shot injury: Delhi Police tells Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has been informed that the death of the 25-year old protesting farmer on January 26 during the tractor rally was not due to a gun-shot injury but on account of shock and hemorrhage as a result of ante-mortem head injury (Hardeep Singh vs State). .An affidavit to this effect was filed by the SHO, Police Station Bilaspur, Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, under whose jurisdiction the postmortem of the deceased was conducted.."..as per the opinion of the Panel of doctors conducting post-mortem, the cause of death of Navreet Singh is shock and haemorrhage as a result of ante-mortem head injury. The death is not due to any gunshot injury," the affidavit said..The Delhi Police also filed an affidavit stating that none of the CCTV footage from the place of the incident show any firing by policemen. ."None of the footage of Andhra Education Society installed near the site of accident show firing by any policeman or any witness as mentioned in the petition present near or at the spot at the time of the incident.”.The cause of death was, in fact, an accident, the police claimed. "All the police as well as public witnesses have unequivocally stated that the death of Navreet was caused by the accident due to his dangerous driving as his tractor hit the barricade,” the affidavit stated. .It is further alleged that the protesters did not take the injured to the nearby hospitals in Delhi.."Two ambulances also reached the spot of accident but, the unruly and violent mob did not even allow them to take the injured to the hospital due to which timely medical aid was not provided,” it added. .The protesters, instead, spread rumours that the deceased was killed by the police in firing, the Delhi Police alleged.Rioters are being identified and appropriate legal action would be taken, it was submitted. .The two affidavits were submitted in the petition preferred by the grandfather of the deceased seeking constitution of a Special Investigation Team to conduct a court-monitored probe into the incident..In his arguments before the Court, the petitioner asserted that the Police had arrived at a "hasty, prejudicial" and "unsubstantiated" conclusion that the cause of the death was the tractor toppling over..To "silence any inquiry into the matter", Delhi Police also registered FIR against a sitting Member of Parliament and at least three journalists, it was contended. .The matter would be heard next on March 4.