Shivani Gadhavi –
Published On: December 16, 2021 at 20:30 IST
A Delhi Court in an order dated on December 9th, 2021 ordered the Delhi Police to conduct an inquiry relating to the ‘Custodial Torture’ of an Accused Arrested in a Case of Robbery.
The Court showed concerns with regards to the responsibility placed on the Station House Officer (SHO).
The Metropolitan Magistrate Vaibhav Chaurasia stated in the Order that the medical reports of the Accused clarify that he had injuries on his feet, fresh markings of beatings, swollen left foot and red marks on lower part of his back.
The Delhi Court observed that there were dissimilarities between the statements given by the Investigating Officer and the SHO. The IO stated that the Accused was Arrested at 3:30 am and later on submitted that he was Arrested at 6:30 am of December 9th, 2021.
The Station House Officer also contradicted to his own statement while saying at first that the accused was arrested at 3:30 am and then stated that the arrest was made at 11:00 pm of December 8th, 2021.
The Metropolitan Magistrate stated, “The SHO has been apprised of the fact that a CCTV is placed the house of the accused. Therefore, he is supposed to state the truth to the court… This is a clear case of custodial violence… the SHO, placed with the responsibility of upholding the dignity and liberty of every stakeholder, has miserably failed to discharge his duties.”
The Court ordered the Police to conduct a medical examination of the accused in the presence of his Counsels so as to prevent any kind of ‘deliberate omissions’ from the report. The Court also directed that a copy of the order be sent to the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Rohini District
The Metropolitan Magistrate also ordered the Joint Commissioner to submit a report regarding the actions that would be taken against the erring officers.
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