Kashish Jain
The NIA is an anti-terror probe agency that has taken cognizance of an incident of alleged torture at its Jammu branch where a suspect was brutally beaten up by a DSP-rank officer.
A high-level probe has been ordered to look into the charges. A man named Harjeet Singh wrote that a youth was brutally beaten up mercilessly and thrashed upon questioning in a Facebook post. The man was suspected to have a role in the RS Pura narco-terrorism case.
According to NIA, the officer tried to coerce a response out of the suspect. DSP Chekpal Sherawat believed that he may have hidden the consignment. The suspect was then let off after several hours of questioning and detention.
Officer has been suspended and a high-level inquiry has been ordered. A team headed by a senior officer in Poonch has been rushed to Jammu to look at the case.
DSP Sherawat had been inducted in the NIA a decade back yet a senior officer has stated that there have been several complaints against him. He now faces disciplinary action which includes dismissal.
An officer has also stated-
“He took advantage of the recruitment rules of NIA and got absorbed as an inspector and later was promoted as a DSP whereas his colleagues are still SI. He got posted to Jammu in September last year. This is said to be his first case at the Jammu branch.”