E-Paper
Man dies of ‘third degree torture’, cop among four booked for homicide in Ambala
Mother of the deceased, Pawan Kumar alias Bandu, alleged that on a complaint by three men, cops forcibly took away her son to Saha police station on the morning of December 29 last year, where the assistant sub inspector used third degree torture in their presence.
: Nearly 10 months after a man allegedly died of body injuries following ‘third degree torture’ in police custody, four men, including an assistant sub-inspector (ASI), have been booked on charges of culpable homicide and criminal conspiracy.
As per the FIR which was registered on directions of Dr Mukesh Kumar, judicial magistrate first class (JMIC) on October 10, those booked on Thursday include Sheela Fouji alias Ved Vyas, Amit Rana, Kala Nambardar and ASI Rishi Pal.
Phoolo Devi, mother of the deceased Pawan Kumar alias Bandu, alleged that on a complaint by three men, cops forcibly took away her son to Saha police station on the morning of December 29 last year, where the ASI used third degree torture in their presence.
“He was injured on his private part as well as other parts of the body and at 9:30 pm, the sarpanch of her village Samlehri along with her younger son went to the police station and sought his release. Rishi allowed his release on the assurance that they will produce him next morning at 9am. At their home, her son narrated the ordeals to the family members. He was handed over to police the next day and he was tortured again, when his condition became worse,” the FIR read.
Later in the afternoon, the family was asked to take Pawan from the police station and when the family members reached there, they noticed that he was unable to walk.
“He narrated the whole episode how he was tortured and given third degree. On the night of December 30, his condition started deteriorating and he was taken to civil hospital in Cantonment the next day, where doctors after giving him first-aid asked them to bring him on Monday, due to the weekend. But during late hours of January 1, 2022, his condition worsened and he died due to the injuries. On the assurance by the DSP, Barara, an autopsy was conducted and in the report, it was clearly mentioned ‘Died due to injuries on body’,” the FIR added.
Following the episode, a DDR was recorded on January 2 and viscera samples were sent for testing. However, the complainant alleged that despite a complaint to the superintendent of police in March, no action was taken.
SP Jashandeep Singh Randhawa remained unavailable for a comment.
Inspector Yashdeep Singh, SHO, Saha police station, said, “the viscera reports from Madhuban lab remains awaited. The accused will be arrested soon and action will be taken accordingly.”
