Human rights panel grants ₹10L to mother of man who ended his life due to police harassment

SHRC orders MBVV police to pay ₹10 lakh compensation to mother of man who died by suicide due to police harassment in Virar.

MUMBAI: Three months after a 28-year-old man from Virar died by suicide due to police harassment, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on Thursday, ordered the Mira–Bhayander-Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police to pay ₹10 lakh as compensation to the mother of the victim within six weeks’ time.

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Before hanging himself on April 24, 2024, the man recorded a video and sent it to his mother Ujwala and relatives stating that his estranged wife and a cop from MBVV police station was threatening to defame and arrest him for purportedly harassing his wife and that he has no hope in the justice system.

The victim was living with his 25-year-old wife in Virar. The couple got married 11 months prior to the incident and according to the statements given by the couple’s relatives, both of them frequently clashed over personal issues. Following one such fight, the wife approached the Virar police and based on her complaint the police registered a case of harassment against the man. After registration of the crime, a policeman, Sunil Pawar, called the man and his mother to the police station and threatened to kill him.

Pawar, according to the SHRC order, was not even the investigating officer of the case. The man, who was traumatised by the harassment caused by the policeman, decided to end his life after which his mother Ujwala got a case of abetment of suicide registered against her daughter-in-law. Her attempts to file a complaint against Pawar, however, were not successful.

When the incident was published in the newspapers, the SHRC took suo-motu note and issued summons to the Virar police and Ujwala for a hearing. On July 10, it passed its final order based on the video and statements of the relatives, and found that the Virar police constable had harassed Ujwala’s son. A bench of SHRC chairman justice KK Tated and member MA Sayed ordered the commissioner of MBVV police to pay Ujwala compensation of ₹10 lakh in six weeks for not following the due police procedure and if the amount was not paid in the given time, they would have to pay interest at the rate of 8% per annum.

The commission observed that every word the deceased said in the video indicated his hopelessness in the legal system. He and his mother were not only humiliated but also harassed and insulted to the extent of the unfortunate incident. It added that in such a case where a non-cognisable case was registered, the police should have tried to resolve the dispute.