Rajasthan police probes detention of minors in Delhi without informing local cops

Ajmer superintendent of police (SP) Vandita Rana said the inquiry would examine the procedural lapses in the investigation. She assured the court the matter would be handled with “due responsibility and sensitivity” and that a report would be submitted by October 8.

The Rajasthan Police on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that it has begun an inquiry into the conduct of its officials who detained two minors in the Capital without informing the local police.

The bench also directed the Delhi Police to preserve CCTV footage from the area where the boys were allegedly taken.

Appearing before a bench of justices Jyoti Singh and Anish Dayal, Ajmer superintendent of police (SP) Vandita Rana said the inquiry, launched on Tuesday, would examine the procedural lapses in the investigation. She assured the court the matter would be handled with “due responsibility and sensitivity” and that a report would be submitted by October 8.

Rana’s submission came during the hearing of a habeas corpus petition filed by a woman seeking the production of her 15-year-old son and her relative’s 17-year-old son. She alleged that on September 26, around 5pm, both boys were unlawfully picked up by unidentified men in civilian clothes. According to her, she and her relatives waited in a nearby park through the night, but the minors never returned.

The family approached Janakpuri police station at around 9pm that night but were redirected to Hari Nagar station, where officers too claimed ignorance of the boys’ whereabouts.

Represented by advocate Archit Krishna, the petitioner told the court that the two boys were related to 24-year-old Deva Pardhi, a tribal man who died last year in Madhya Pradesh police custody after alleged brutality.

She alleged that the detention was a retaliatory act linked to a Supreme Court order issued on September 26, which had reprimanded the Madhya Pradesh government and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for delays in prosecuting those accused in Pardhi’s death.

On Tuesday, the high court had asked the Rajasthan Police to explain why the minors had been picked up. The directive followed Pushkar police inspector PS Vikram Singh Rathore’s admission that the two had been detained in connection with a robbery case, but without notifying the Delhi Police.

During Wednesday’s hearing, the bench also directed the Delhi Police to preserve CCTV footage from the area where the boys were allegedly taken. It further instructed the Rajasthan Police to file an updated status report, noting that questions of inter-state arrest, unlawful apprehension, and detention merited close scrutiny.

“Having given our thoughtful consideration to the respective submissions of the parties and on perusal of the Status Reports filed by the Delhi Police as also the Rajasthan Police, we are of the view that issues raised by the Petitioner, more particularly, with respect to inter-State arrest, illegal apprehension and detention need consideration. Updated Status Report will be filed by the State of Rajasthan along with a copy of the inquiry report,” the court said in its order.

The matter will be heard next on October 8.