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Ludhiana: Division 6 SHO transferred for shopkeeper’s ‘custodial torture’
The station house officer (SHO) of Division Number 6 in Ludhiana, Vijay Kumar, was transferred to the police lines on Wednesday following allegations of custodial torture by a local chicken shop owner
The station house officer (SHO) of Division number 6 station has been transferred to the police lines after a chicken shop owner accused him of custodial torture, officials said on Wednesday.
Police commissioner Swapan Sharma took action against inspector Vijay Kumar after the shopkeeper filed a written complaint. However, the SHO refuted the allegations. He said the shopkeeper had been illegally allowing people to consume alcohol at his shop and had been warned about it 15 days earlier as well.
According to complainant Sarabjit Singh, he runs a fish and chicken shop in Nirankari Mohalla. He added that he was present at his shop around 9 pm on Friday when SHO Vijay Kumar arrived with a police team. At that time, no one was found consuming alcohol at the shop. About 20–25 minutes later, four men came with a bottle of liquor and asked to sit and drink inside the shop, but he refused.
He alleged that despite this, the police returned shortly after and started abusing him. The police took him and the four men to the police station, where a case was registered against them.
Sarabjit further alleged that at the police station, the SHO called his driver and other personnel, forced him to remove his clothes and subjected him to electric shocks on his private parts and nose. He also claimed that he was beaten and dragged to a room behind the SHO’s office.
After his condition worsened, he was taken to the civil hospital for treatment. He submitted a written complaint to the police commissioner on Saturday, demanding action.
Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Jaskiranjit Singh Teja confirmed the development. The DCP said that the matter is under investigation. Appropriate action will be taken according to the investigation outputs, he added.
Similar case in January
On January 30, an FIR was registered against four police personnel for allegedly torturing a cab driver. The controversy erupted after cab driver Ranjot Singh alleged that he was brutally assaulted while in police custody following a road accident near Old Session Court Chowk on January 26. It was alleged that his car collided with another vehicle, after which the occupants of the second car called the police, who tortured him at the police post. All four police personnel were later suspended.
