New Delhi, October 2: Delhi police on Wednesday told a local court that it will try to file an extra charge sheet by October 15 in the alleged case of rape, murder and forceful cremation of a nine-year-old Dalit girl at a crematorium in Delhi Cantonment area on August 1.

Police told the Additional Sessions Judge Ashutosh Kumar, that the forensic reports were likely to be received by October 15, based on which a supplementary charge sheet will be filed. The judge directed the Director of Rohini-based Forensic Science Laboratory to expedite the process and posted the matter for hearing on October 21.

The victim who lived in a village in the Cantonment area was found dead by her mother at the crematorium and was being forced to cremate the remains immediately by the accused. This triggered widespread and vociferous protests by locals as well as activists and politicians in the Capital.

On August 28, police filed a charge sheet, formally accusing four people—the prime accused, Radhey Shyam (a Hindu priest), and three accomplices - Kuldeep Singh, Salim Ahmed and Laxmi Narayan—for rape, wrongful confinement, murder, destruction of evidence under Indian Penal Code sections, and under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act, 1989.

Earlier according to sources it was already established that the prime accused Radhey Shyam – the Hindu priest – was habitual of watching porn and the girl also regularly used to give him massages.

The judge took cognizance of the charge sheet on September 9 and asked the accused to appear before it on September 29. On Wednesday, they were produced through video conferencing from jail where they are incarcerated pending trial. The victim’s parents were present in the courtroom with their counsel from the Delhi State Legal Services Authority.

As the court proceeding in the case was underway the judge was informed that the previous investigating officer Richhpal Singh had been replaced by Mayank Bansal, who was also present in the court. The court, however, sought the IO’s response on an application by Radhey Shyam through his counsel LK Verma, seeking the preservation of CCTV footage of the crime scene on the day of the incident and the day after—August 1 and 2 — saying that it would add to a fair trial.

Based on one of the requests by the defense counsel, the judge ruled, “It is not possible to provide a separate van for their court production. However, directions have been given to all the officials to ensure their safety during court production and in jail.”

During the course of hearing Laxmi Narayan’s counsel claimed that a case of murder was not made out against his client and there was a delay of 10 hours in the registration of the FIR. He also said that the girl was cremated only after her mother had given her consent and signed the crematorium register.

However, the judge said that they should wait for the FSL reports. He also said that there were extra-judicial confessions and even the victim’s mother had said that all the accused together burnt her daughter.

Police said in their charge sheet that Radhey Shyam and Kuldeep Singh made extra-judicial confessions to two witnesses when the public had barged into the crematorium, caught the accused, questioned them about the pyre on which the girl was allegedly cremated.

“How can you say it now that such a case is not made out against the accused? There are extra-judicial confessions. An extra-judicial confession is admissible although it is a weak piece of evidence,” the court said.

The police had earlier told the court that the girl died due to “suffocation” while she was being sexually assaulted, but the accused tried to dress up the crime scene to show that she died of electrocution while fetching water from a cooler. For this, they even threw water on the body.

The court will now hear arguments on the framing of charges against the accused on October 21.