7 cops booked for ‘torturing’ NDPS accused in custody

The Hisar sadar police have booked seven cops, including the head of the narcotic cell of the Hisar police, for allegedly torturing a 40-year-old man from Fatehabad, who died during treatment at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) on September 1.

The Hisar sadar police have booked seven policemen, including the head of the narcotic cell of the Hisar police, for allegedly torturing a 40-year-old man from Fatehabad, who died during treatment at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) on September 1. The victim’s family has been sitting on a dharna at the PGIMS since his death and they accepted his body today and cremated at his native village in Fatehabad after the police booked seven cops.

The Hisar sadar police have booked seven cops, including the head of the narcotic cell of the Hisar police, for allegedly torturing a 40-year-old man from Fatehabad, who died during treatment at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) on September 1. (Getty Images/ Representational image)

Those booked are Hisar narcotic cell in-charge Pawan Kumar, Naveen Kumar, Jasbir, Parmod, Rajbir, Rajesh and Hemraj, on a complaint filed by victim Harpal’s wife Suman. The cops were booked under Section 302 of the IPC.

Suman said her husband had gone to bring some household items on July 1, but he did not return.

“On July 2, I received a call from Hemraj, who is posted at Rohtak narcotic cell, stating that my husband has been arrested in an NDPS case. The next day I along with my brother-in-law went there but the cops did not allow us to meet my husband. We met him at the Rohtak court complex, and he told us to arrange ₹15-20 lakh, else the Hisar narcotic cell head will torture him,” she alleged.

Victim’s cousin Vinod claimed that the police picked up Harpal on July 1 and later they brought him to a place in Rohtak from where they claimed to have recovered drugs from his possession.

“A case was registered against Harpal at the urban estate police station in Rohtak and the Hisar police had taken him on remand. They gave him third-degree torture in Hisar and when his health worsened, the narcotic cell officials called a quack. When Harpal’s health deteriorated, he was admitted to a private hospital in Hisar and a local from our village had seen him there and he informed us,” the victim’s cousin added.

He claimed that when they had gone to the private hospital to meet Harpal, police denied them permission.

“Then we approached the court and Harpal was brought to the PGIMS on July 15, and he succumbed to his injuries on September 1,” he added.