The Madhya Pradesh police's role in investigating a crime involving cow vigilantes leading to their acquittal came under scrutiny by the Supreme Court after it discovered that the video footage that caught the accused killing a man for alleged cow slaughter was not produced as evidence. What was more shocking was the fact that the police did not send the compact disc containing the video footage for authentication to a forensic lab.
The matter came to light after a social activist Anurag Modi highlighted the flaws in the investigation and pointed fingers on the police's connivance as the list of 12 accused charged with rioting and murder contained the son of a BJP legislator.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud, who had summoned the officers investigating the case to Court, said, "You (police) are hand in glove with the accused, Because they belong to the political party ruling in the state, you let them go." The Court further asked the police officials why the CD was not sent for forensic probe to which they replied that the same will now be sent to the forensic lab.
Counsel for petitioner Pyoli Swatija pointed out how in one of the 12 cases, nine accused were acquitted, the bench wished to know whether the CD was produced as evidence in the concerned Court and whether its non-production became a ground for acquittal. The matter will be taken up after two weeks.