Even three years after Haryana Police arrested Prof Virender Kumar, former political advisor to former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda on charges of sedition, the investigating agency has not been able to find any “ocular or documentary evidence” against him in the case. Advertising The Indian Express has accessed a scathing note, dated March 3, 2017, written by the office of Haryana’s Additional District Attorney to Investigating Officer of the Rohtak district police asking the officer to “explain the reasons best known to him” for not being able to find any evidence against Prof Virender. Till date, Haryana Police has not filed a chargesheet in the sedition case against Prof Virender, who, the police claimed, had instigated rioters leading to violence across Haryana in February, 2016. Two other co-accused in the case are Jat leaders Capt Man Singh Dalal and Jaideep Dhankar, who are also currently out on bail. At least, 30 people had died when the Jat reservation agitation, paralysed the entire state for nearly two weeks. In March 2017, a draft-chargesheet sent to District Attorney’s office for approval, was returned with a note from the ADA that raised 13 objections on the police’s chargesheet. Advertising Out of these 13, on 10, the ADA had sought the Investigating Officer’s explanation on the failure to procure any evidence against Prof Virender. The note read: “My observation regarding the investigation of this case are as follows — Perusal of the complaint revealed that the allegations levelled in complaint are based on presumptions and assumptions. IO failed to collect any evidence in support of the allegations.” It added, “There is not a single ocular or documentary evidence which shows that the accused persons made instigation to erupt the violence in the state. IO to explain”. Referring to the grounds on which Prof Virender was released on bail by the court of District and Sessions Judge, Rohtak, the ADA wrote on the file, “As per the observations made by the Ld Sessions Judge while deciding the bail application…IO failed to collect any ocular or documentary evidence to prove the fact that the agitation had gone violent on the instigation of the accused. The Ld judge had observed that from the conversations, the offence of sedition is prima facie not made out as from the said conversation.” Talking to The Indian Express, on phone, Prof Virender said, “From day one, everybody knew it was a politically motivated case. I was interrogated for 10 days..they found nothing. The trial cannot begin unless they file the chargesheet.”

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