Shivaji Nagar police assaulted minors, says NGO; cops deny charge

NGO alleges Shivaji Nagar police in Mumbai assaulted 5 minor children detained for theft. Police deny claims, say CCTV footage supports them.

MUMBAI: A non-governmental organisation (NGO) working on children’s issues has alleged that the Shivaji Nagar police in Govandi assaulted five minor children including four girls detained on suspicion of theft on March 8. The children were beaten on their hands, backs, and the soles of their feet with belts and batons; one girl bore injury marks near her ear, another girl injured her shoulder, while the boy was assaulted badly on his sole, the NGO said. The police, however, denied the allegations and claimed they had CCTV footage to support their stand.

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Members of the NGO, Child Safety Forum, claimed that they had taken the children for a medical check-up and the matter was being handled by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). The CWC has demanded an explanation from the Shivaji Nagar police and asked them to submit a report on the entire episode, they said.

Bapurao Deshmukh, senior inspector attached to the Shivaji Nagar police station said they would submit CCTV footage to the CWC along with the report to support their claim. “The children were brought to the police station along with their parents and were questioned in the presence of their parents. CCTV cameras are installed in the police station, and we will submit our reports along with relevant CCTV footage as evidence in support of our claim to the CWC,” he said.

According to the police, on March 8, a woman filed a complaint with the Shivaji Nagar police station saying she had lost her purse containing ₹70,000 while walking in the area earlier that day. The police checked CCTV footage of the spot and noticed the presence of some youngsters there at the time of the theft after which they visited Jai Ambe Nagar near Chheda Nagar in Chembur.

The police detained five children aged 11 years to 15 years and one 20-year-old woman from the locality and took them to the police station for questioning, said officials. But members of Child Safety Forum alleged parents were not present when the police detained the minors, and they reached the police station only after getting to know that their children were detained.

“The police assaulted the minors and one girl sustained injury near her ear, as she was slapped by a policeman. Another girl was hit on her shoulder, whereas the boy was assaulted badly on his sole,” said a member of the Forum on the condition of anonymity.

He claimed that the minor girls were released around 11pm while boy was detained overnight and released the next day in the afternoon after his family approached the Forum and the member intervened in the matter.

“Members of our Forum noticed injury marks on the children, who recounted severe verbal abuse by the police. The children reported being beaten on their hands, backs, and the soles of their feet with belts and sticks,” said the Child Safety Forum member.