Delhi riots: Complainant says cops assaulted her in station; HC seeks response
Shanno had in May filed a complaint against several people, including BJP leader Jagdish Pradhan, Mohan Singh Bisht and a few police officers, for allegedly helping orchestrate the north-east Delhi riots.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought a status report from the police on a plea in a northeast Delhi riots case, in which it was alleged that a complainant was roughed up at a police station on August 8 when she had gone to collect the copy on an FIR.
The complainant had filed the FIR on August 6 seeking action against several people who put saffron flags across Subhash Mohalla and threatened members of Muslim community living there to leave or sell their houses on August 5 at 1 am.
Justice Yogesh Khanna also asked the deputy commissioner of police (DCP), northeast, to ascertain the threat perception to complainant Shanno for the second time and provide additional security, if required, after she said that three police personnel in plain clothes assaulted her and her daughter at the Bhajanpura police station.
Also read: Opposition fanned north-east Delhi riots, says AAP; BJP hits back
Shanno had in May filed a complaint against several people, including BJP leader Jagdish Pradhan, Mohan Singh Bisht and a few police officers, for allegedly helping orchestrate the north-east Delhi riots. However, according to her, the police had been thwarting her efforts to try and get an FIR registered . She had contended that she and her family were getting regular threats to withdraw their complaints.
Earlier on July 17, Justice Vibhu Bakhru had directed the DCP to ascertain the threat perception to Shanno and her family and provide them security, if warranted, after she had moved the court seeking protection. In her previous plea, Shanno had alleged that while her husband was stopped at ISBT and his phone snatched. She had also stated that her son and grandson were hit by a car when they were on a motorcycle in which the child was seriously injured.
On Wednesday, appearing for the petitioners, advocate Mehmood Pracha told the court that Shanno and other women of the locality had lodged a complaint on August 6 against the nuisance created by the mob . On August 8, she along with the other complainants was called to the police station to collect the copy of the FIR.
However, when she went there, the SHO referred to her first complaint (filed in May) and asked her to withdraw the names of the BJP leaders and police officials and instead give the complaint against anonymous persons, the plea said. The plea said that when Shanno refused to take her complaint back, the SHO got angry and left the police station.
Later, one police officer — named Manoj Chaudhary — took them to the lobby in front of the SHO’s office, where the three petitioners -- Shanno, her daughter Ilmana and one Shaheen were assaulted, Pracha said. The counsel added that the police officials snatched Ilmana’s phone and also deleted the video she had shot while they were allegedly manhandling her mother.
Additional Standing counsel Rajesh Mahajan, appearing for the city police, told the court that after the HC’s order of July 17, protection has been given to the woman and beat constables visit her thrice in a day. He said that CCTV’s have also been installed in front of her house. He said that he would file a status report in this regard.
Deputy commissioner of police (north-east) Ved Prakash Surya said, “We are yet to receive a copy of the directions issued by the Delhi High Court. As and when we get it, we will abide by the directions.”
A police official who did not wished to be named said that they had investigated the woman’s complaint. However, they did not find anything to substantiate the allegations.
BJP leader Jagdish Pradhan, Mohan Singh Bisht had not commented on the issue despite repeated attempts by HT to reach out to them.