2018 Agra custodial death: NHRC finds ASP, DSP among 21 cops guilty, action ordered
A government order uploaded on the official state website on Tuesday stated that compliance with the NHRC directives must be confirmed within 15 days.
More than six years after the custodial death of 30-year-old Raju Gupta at the Sikandra police station in Agra, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) enquiry has found 21 policemen guilty of human rights violations, including the then additional superintendent of police (Rural) and deputy superintendent of police, senior government officials said on Wednesday. Officials said the findings include officers across various ranks—three inspectors, two sub-inspectors, five head constables, seven constables, a police driver and a computer operator.
Following the NHRC report, the Uttar Pradesh government has directed concerned authorities to disburse an interim compensation of ₹5 lakh to Gupta’s family and initiate appropriate action against the officials named in the report.
A government order uploaded on the official state website on Tuesday stated that compliance with the NHRC directives must be confirmed within 15 days.
The case was transferred to the crime branch-criminal investigation department (CB-CID) after the NHRC intervened. Rajendra Prasad Yadav, additional superintendent of police at the CB-CID headquarters in Lucknow, confirmed that the investigation has concluded and charges have been framed under IPC Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 340 (wrongful confinement).
“17 personnel, including the then station in-charge, two sub-inspectors and four head constables, were found to have illegally detained Gupta on suspicion of theft and assaulted him in custody, leading to his death,” Yadav said. The investigation report has been submitted to the state government for prosecution sanction, as the accused are public servants.
The then ASP and DSP, although held responsible for human rights violations by the NHRC, were not named in the CB-CID’s criminal case findings.
CB-CID officials shared that Raju Gupta, the resident of Narendra Enclave on Galana Marg, was taken into custody on November 21, 2018, on a verbal complaint from a local resident, Anshul Pratap, who accused Gupta of stealing a bag of jewellery. No formal complaint was registered before the police detained him.
While in custody, Gupta was allegedly beaten in front of his mother, Renu Gupta, who pleaded with officers to stop. His condition worsened, and he was later declared dead at a hospital. However, she passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic before the case reached the prosecution stage.
Post-mortem findings revealed serious injuries, prompting a murder case against several police personnel, including those named Anshul Pratap and Vivek, among others. The then inspector of Sikandra police station, Ajay Kaushal, was on leave, with Rishipal Singh holding charge.
