Attack On Ex-Army Man- "State Govt. Continuously Showing Inaction Against Shameful Act Of Local Cop": Allahabad High Court

Hearing the plea filed by an ex-soldier of the Indian Army alleging that he was humiliated and brutally tortured by the Uttar Pradesh Police, the Allahabad High Court last week observed that the State Government was continuously showing inaction against the prima facie shameful act of the local policeman.The Bench of Justice Surya Prakash Kesarwani and Justice Gautam Chowdhary specifically observed thus:"...we are constraint to observe that State Government is continuously prima facie showing inaction against the prima facie shameful act of the local policeman. The prevailing situation can not be tolerated"However, since the Government Advocate on July 22 made a request for adjournment on the ground that due to some personal difficulty he was not able to argue through video conferencing, the Court adjourned the case and listed it for further hearing on July 27.The Court also examined the records of the case and perused the supplementary affidavit filed by the State before adjourning the case.During the course of the previous hearing, the Uttar Pradesh Government had submitted before the Allahabad High Court that the Government had acted against accused police officers and an SIT has been formed to investigate the matter.This response of the State Government had come in the backdrop of the serious remarks made by the Bench of Justice Surya Prakash Kesarwani and Justice Gautam Chowdhary against the functioning of the Uttar Pradesh police."...some action has been taken against the accused Police Officers including the S.I. Sunil Kumar Sharma and the I.O. Ram Naresh Singh and a preliminary inquiry is also being conducted. He further states that S.I.T. has also been constituted to investigate into the matter including the F.I.Rs. lodged by the petitioner," the Court noted submissions made by AGA Patanjali Misra for the UP Government.Essentially, on July 8, the Court had taken into account the injury reports and FIR filed by the victim/ex-army man and had said:"...prima facie, (it) shows a very sorry state of affairs and police atrocities...It, prima facie, indicates a breach of fundamental rights of the petitioner guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India by the accused police officers/ police personnel."Stressing that the matter is serious and requires serious consideration of the Court, the Bench had directed the State DGP to file a counter affidavit by means of his personal affidavit, indicating the action taken in the matter.A video of the said incident was also circulated on social media. It may be noted that the Policemen accused of assaulting him have been suspended."Sorry State Of Affairs & Police Atrocities": Allahabad HC Seeks DGP's Personal Affidavit On Alleged Attack On Ex-Army Man By UP PoliceThe matter in briefOn May 2, 2021, the Victim (Resham Singh), along with his mother and two sisters was going from Pilibhit to Lakhim Pur Kheri when they were stopped by the Police Officials at around 9 am and they enquired from the Victim and his family members as to where they were going and also asked for the papers of the car in which they were traveling.Allegedly, since it was taking some time to sort out the papers, the Police Officials out of the blue started abusing the Victim and his family members, which included his mother and two sisters.The Victim asked the Police Officials to not abuse them as there were women as well who were traveling with him. It was also informed by the Victim that he is a retired member of the armed forces of India.Thereafter, the Police Officials got infuriated on the same and threatened the Victim and his family members that they will teach them a lesson for life and then started abusing him and beating the Victim with lathis.Allegedly, the Police Officials also started beating the mother and sisters of the Victim and took them to the police station without taking the assistance of any woman Police officer.That after forcefully being taken to the said Police Station, the Victim was disrobed and then tied up on a cot and brutally beaten up by the said police officials for two continuous hours using "Dandas", Fist and leg blows and gave him third-degree torture only to satisfy their ego.Allegedly, the cops abused him on his Sikh identity, tied him up, tore out his turban, pulled his hair, beat him with lathis—causing grave injuries on his backside and hipsFurther, it was submitted that the Police Officials did not stop at the physical torture of the Victim, but in order to further humiliate the Victim, they also threatened the Victim that they will cut his unshorn hair in order to teach him a lesson of his life.Case Title - Resham Singh v. State Of Uttar Pradesh & Ors.Click Here To Download OrderRead Order

Attack On Ex-Army Man- "State Govt. Continuously Showing Inaction Against Shameful Act Of Local Cop": Allahabad High Court

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