Prayagraj : Allahabad high court has dismissed a petition seeking relief to police personnel accused of repeatedly beating people in police custody and molesting women.
The court was hearing two applications filed by police personnel, including lady cop, challenging a trial court’s Sept 27, 2024, order rejecting their discharge applications in a case arising from Baberu police station in Banda district. The court said that police personnel involved in such conduct were not entitled to any protection as provided under Section 197 CrPC. In 2022, an FIR was registered at the Baberu police station under various sections of IPC. Four women were arrested on the night of May 13, 2022, while four men, including an informant, were arrested the next day.
The high court said that such violence cannot be termed a part of police duty and can only be described as a crime. Justice Madan Pal Singh observed that victims were allegedly subjected to repeated beatings in custody after their hands and feet were tied with a rope and they were laid face down. During the investigation, four constables were sent to Village Padari to serve the notices. It is alleged that the accused persons and their family members abused and assaulted the police constables. Following the incident, police force was dispatched to the village.
During this police action, allegations of illegal assault, molestation, custodial violence, looting and false implication by police personnel were made by the complainant and an FIR was registered against nine named and several unknown police personnel, including the accused applicants The trial court rejected the discharge plea and it was challenged by the police personnel before the high court.