E-Paper
HC notice to DGP, 3 Ludhiana cops on allegations of custodial torture
The high court bench of justice Suvir Sehgal has sought response on the plea by January 28 while also seeking response from station house officer (SHO) Amritpal Singh Grewal, ASI Balbir Singh and constable Manoj Kumar against whom allegations were levelled by one Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Saroop Nagar in Ludhiana.
Chandigarh
The Punjab and Haryana high court has sought response from the Punjab director general of police (DGP), among others, on a plea seeking judicial probe into the alleged custodial torture of a Ludhiana resident by the local police.
The high court bench of justice Suvir Sehgal has sought response on the plea by January 28 while also seeking response from station house officer (SHO) Amritpal Singh Grewal, ASI Balbir Singh and constable Manoj Kumar against whom allegations were levelled by one Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Saroop Nagar in Ludhiana.
“The petitioner was illegally detained on July 4, 2025, tortured and shown to have been arrested belatedly on July 5, 2025, in complete disregard of constitutional safeguards. He was subjected to inhuman custodial torture, including beatings, electric shocks, water submersion and mental harassment through threats of sexual violence to his mother. Sham medical examinations were procured to cover up injuries. Only when his mother and wife apprised the learned magistrate, a fresh medical examination was ordered, which revealed injuries consistent with torture,” the plea, filed through lawyer Rajat Malhotra, alleged.
Besides judicial probe, the plea also seeks handing over probe to an independent agency and further directions for preservation of the CCTV footage etc of the time when he was detained/arrested.
The plea said the petitioner was implicated in an FIR on June 21 pertaining to robbery and murder of one Sonam Jain, his neighbour, allegedly committed by an unknown person. The petitioner was summoned on July 4, on the basis of misguided suspicion and detained at Eldeco Estate-1 police station. During the course of his detention at CIA staff, Ludhiana, his mother was summoned and he was subjected to torture in her presence, the plea alleged further adding that after keeping him in illegal custody he was produced before a court on July 6 and before that a “fake” medical report was procured.
It further added that from the court, the police secured two days remand and during that he was again subjected to torture. “After remand ended petitioner’s lawyer sought a medical examination from the court while showing injuries inflicted upon the petitioner. It was this medical examination, conducted by a medical board, which confirmed the presence of injuries,” his lawyer Malhotra had told the court, further submitting that compensation should also be ordered in favour of the petitioner.
