Observing that the Pune Police's style of working was like a 'Jungle Raj', the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) on Monday (August 3) initiated suo motu proceedings against the Police for allegedly tying three young boys on the bonnet of their vehicle, parading them on the streets of the city and further allowing private individuals to assault the boys with fists, batons etc.

In what is said to be a first such instance in nearly a decade, a full coram of the MSHRC comprising Chairperson Justice (retd) Anant Badar, Member Justice (retd) Swapna Joshi and Member Sanjay Kumar, has directed the State government and also the Director General of Police (DGP) to furnish a detailed affidavit on the next date of hearing explaining its stand on the issue and also what action has been taken or proposed to be taken against the errant cops, who 'shamed' the boys publicly.

The boys were allegedly named in the murder case of a youth, and after picking them up in the said case lodged with the Bharatiya Vidyapeeth Police Station in Pune, the police resorted to a 'barbaric' incident of tying the boys on police vehicle bonnet, which the Commission held was nothing but an 'imitation' of the similar incident wherein one Farooq Ahmad Dar was tied to the police vehicle's bonnet in Kashmir, a few years ago.

"The barbaric incident of Pune Police tying three young accused to the bonnet of the Police vehicle and parading them on street of Pune giving an opportunity to private individual to assault them publicly and compelling them to kneel down and walk through the residential premises while assaulting them by batons. If these stills from widely circulated video clips on social media platforms regarding misdeeds of Pune Police if ultimately found to be correct, then it will certainly bring shame to otherwise well-governed and well-ruled State of Maharashtra. A lurking doubt creeps in the judicial mind as to whether it is a calculated and designed effort to malign the State and its Home Department," the order penned by Justice Badar reads.

Referring to the order of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) which had ordered Rs 10 lakh compensation to Dar for the incident in Kashmir, the Commission pointed out that the Pune Police 'virtually imitated' the said incident.

".... prima facie to tarnish and malign the image of the State and to project style of working of Pune Police as a 'Jungle Raj' functionary. What we could gather about the incident from local print and electronic media prima face reveals a shocking story of extreme brutality of Pune Police by blatantly projecting to the public at large that constitutional provisions including fundamental right to life conferred by Article 21 of the Constitution of India has no value in functioning of the Pune Police Department.... it is prima face revealed from the media reports, Police publicly paraded the boys by taking them to various housing societies etc. by making them to walk on their knees while assaulting them publicly. To crown this all, by displaying outrageously offensive conducts violating all moral standards and shocking public conscience, three of the accused persons came to be tied to the bonnet of police vehicle by masking them and paraded them on the busy streets of Pune giving an opportunity to the public to assault them right in front of the Police personnel," the Commission noted.

The MSHRC also pointed out that the video clips indicated that the concerned Police officer heading the team was even threatening the children residing in the housing societies who gathered to see the 'Tamasha' of parading, by openly proclaiming that those students will also be taken to the Police Station and forcibly asking them to sit in the Police vehicle, completely oblivious to the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act and causing great psychological trauma in their juvenile mind.

"What shocks our conscious is that, all this has been happening at Pune which has its identity as a cultural capital of Maharashtra and that too, at least prima facie, under the supervision and tacit consent of the Commissioner of Police, an officer of the IPS rank who is supposed to be the protector of human rights of residents of Pune as well as their constitutional rights as enshrined by Article 21 of the Constitution of India. If similar such incident or rather in more brutal manner occurs even after incident similar to the instant one, then it becomes obvious that such incidents are happening under either express or tacit consent of the Commissioner of Police. This can be the only logical conclusion which can be derived in such sequence of events. It implies that this officer has abetted or neglected or failed to protect human rights of persons under his jurisdiction," the Commission opined.

The Coram noted that Mansingh Patil, Sr. Police Inspector of the concerned Police Station was still holding the charge of the said Police Station and highlighted that this very fact "speaks volumes" about complicity of top brass of the Pune Police.

"It hardly needs to emphasise that the act of tying young suspects / accused to the bonnet of Police vehicle and parading them constitutes flagrant violation of constitutional rights, statutory protection and the fundamental tenets of due process of law. Rather than maintaining public order this medieval style of public shaming turns the Pune Police into an active agent of humiliation and exposes such suspects to immediate physical harm from the hostile onlookers as seen from the subject video clip. Material on record prima facie reflects breach of constitutional right under Article 21 as Right to Life includes the right to live with dignity and the accused cannot be subjected to public humiliation by Police. The incident under inquiry is nothing but branding by the Police to the suspects as guilty in the public eye before determination of their guilt by following due process of law," the Commission remarked.

With these observations, the Commission while issuing notices to the three cops has asked the Amitesh Kumar, Commissioner of Police, Pune and Milind Mohite Dy. Commissioner of Police, Zone- II, Pune to file their affidavits in reply to the present suo motu proceedings.

A further directive has been issued for conducting a 'fact finding enquiry' under Data Karale, Special Inspector General of Police, MSHRC, within a period of one week. The matter would be taken up for hearing again on August 20.

Case Title: Suo Motu Case No: 4848/13/23 of 2026

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