Inquiry initiated against police post in-charge, staff for custodial torture

The commissionerate police on Saturday initiated an inquiry against the Focal Point police post in-charge along with other staff members into the alleged custodial torture of four persons after suspecting them of snatching on Thursday night.

The move came after senior officials suspended assistant sub inspector (ASI) Gopal Singh, the police post in-charge, on Friday night. The ASI and his team suspected the victims, migrant labourers who hail from Uttar Pradesh, of snatching Rs 4,000 on June 25 night.

As per information, Anu, a resident of Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, lodged a complaint with the Focal Point police that four bike-borne persons with their faces covered snatched Rs 4000 from him on Thursday night near Focal Point Chowk.

On June 26, ASI Gopal Singh and his team took Daleep Kumar of Guru Gobind Singh Nagar, Manish Kumar of Model Town, Deepu and Santosh of Lajpat Nagar, all in their twenties, in custody from Focal Point Chowk when they were on their way to a qawwali night near a religious shrine at Reru village on two motorcycles.
Singh, who had joined the police post as in-charge on May 19, did not inform his seniors that he was taking the four into custody on charges of snatching.

The ASI along with the staff beat them up with slippers and wooden sticks and kept them half-naked, the victims claimed. Their bodies have injury marks. The ASI informed station house officer (SHO) Bimal Kant on Friday that he was going to register a case against them on the basis of the complaint. The SHO questioned them in the police post and found no incriminating evidence against them after which they were let off.

The SHO brought the case into the notice of the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) after which the ASI was suspended and an inquiry was ordered against him and others.

Sources said the ASI conducted the complainants’ identification parade, which should be done in the presence of a magistrate and senior officials, according to the
rulebook.

The ASI conducted a sloppy investigation in this case, as how the ASI could identify the snatchers since they committed the crime with their covered faces in the dark, officials said.

The ASI failed to arrange technical evidence against them and ignored the general procedure of investigation, it was learnt.

On Saturday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Kishan Lal and Ashok Sareen along with Brij Lal, father of Deepu, and other victims met the police commissioner and demanded registration of a case against the ASI and others for “torturing the youths in illegal custody”. Lal alleged that Gopal demanded Rs 28,000 as bribe from them for letting them go.

“We immediately suspended the ASI and ordered inquiry against him and the police post staff. The victims’ statements have been recorded and further action will be taken after the outcome of the inquiry report being prepared by ACP Amneet Kondal,” deputy commissioner of police Rajinder Singh said.