Police carve out larger-than-life image but show apathy in abduction cases: Allahabad HC
A division bench made this observation while dealing with a writ petition filed by one Nitesh Kumar regarding the disappearance of his brother
The Allahabad high court has observed that while police officials often carve out a larger-than-life image for themselves, they shield themselves from receiving and addressing public grievances.
A bench comprising Justice JJ Munir and Justice Anil Kumar further noted that the police generally exhibit apathy in abduction/kidnapping cases, as no personal responsibility is fixed upon the officers
The division bench made this observation on June 4 while dealing with a writ petition filed by one Nitesh Kumar regarding the disappearance of his brother who, he claimed, was not being traced by the police officials concerned of Varanasi.
“This is not the first case since morning where missing persons have not been traced out. We notice that the police are carving out a larger than life image for themselves shielding themselves from receiving and attending to public grievances. In this case, the petitioner’s brother is missing since 31.03.2025 when he was reportedly abducted. The F.I.R. in this case was lodged on 03.04.2025,” the court observed.
The court directed the state government to file its reply and also sought a personal affidavit from the commissioner of police, Varanasi, on or before the next date of hearing (June 12), showing cause why the abductee has not been recovered so far.
“This lack of accountability often results in an abduction tragically turning into a murder due to their inaction,” the bench said. The court suggested if because an abductee is not traced promptly, the victim is killed, the responsibility, prima facie, must be fixed on the head of the police under whose jurisdiction the abduction or kidnapping report was made and which later resulted in fatal consequences because the victim was not recovered.
