Two SHOs among 10 GB Nagar policemen booked under SC/ST Act for assaulting law student

Ten Gautam Budh Nagar police personnel, including two officers, have been booked for allegedly assaulting a law student in Greater Noida last year. The student, from the Dalit community, had reported an immoral trafficking racket. The incident came to light after the student shared video clips of the assault on social media. The police had earlier filed a complaint against the student for extortion, but the case was dismissed by the court. The student has now filed an FIR against the police personnel under charges of assault and the SC/ST Act. Investigation is underway.

Ten Gautam Budh Nagar police personnel, including two officers in charge of two police stations, have been booked under charges of assault and under relevant sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly assaulting a 22-year-old law student in Greater Noida last year, senior officers said.

An FIR was registered against the 10 named police personnel at the Beta 2 police station on Sunday, officers said. (Representative Image)

An FIR was registered against the 10 named police personnel at the Beta 2 police station on Sunday, officers said, adding that among those named were two officers who are currently in charge of two police stations in Greater Noida.

The complainant is an Aligarh resident from the Dalit community, police said. He alleged that he had tipped off the Noida police about an immoral trafficking racket being run from a spa and massage centre in Noida in 2021. Baed on the tip-off, its owner, a woman, was arrested and sent to jail by the Sector 49 police in June 2021, he said.

Later, on November 18, 2022, he was picked up by the Greater Noida police.

“I was picked up by police on November 18 last year from outside the SNG Plaza in Greater Noida and brutally assaulted by policemen at the Beta 2 police station. I was thrashed to the extent that I started bleeding. Later, when I pleaded for water to drink, I was given urine in a pot from the bathroom and forced to drink it,” said the complainant, requesting anonymity.

A couple of short video clips of the student purportedly being assaulted were shared by him on social media in June this year.

According to the police, the student was booked under Section 384 (extortion) of the Indian Penal Code at the Beta 2 police station after the woman owner of the spa filed a complaint accusing the law student of extorting ₹3 lakh from her under threat of implicating her in immoral trafficking.

“After registering an FIR, the student was arrested by the police from Greater Noida and sent to judicial custody,” said SM Khan, deputy commissioner of police.

The student said he got bail after spending less than a fortnight in jail, but has since then been trying to get the “false FIR” against him quashed.

“My only fault was that I had complained against that woman, who then registered a fake case of extortion against me,” said the law student.

In June this year, the student approached the district court urging it to take cognizance of the assault on him following which the court ordered the Gautam Budh Nagar police to probe the matter.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (Greater Noida) Ashok Kumar, who was probing the matter, said the court had dismissed the case in August this year.

“After police submitted an inquiry into the matter, the court dismissed the case in August,” said Kumar.

However, the complainant continued to approach several officials in the matter and again submitted an application to the Greater Noida DCP office to lodge an FIR against the police personnel.

“Earlier, the complainant had asked for an inquiry, which was done by the ADCP. Now the complainant has asked for an FIR, which has been registered at the Beta-2 police station against ten police personnel of Gautam Budh Nagar police under charges of assault and the SC/ST Act on Sunday. Investigation into the matter is underway,” said DCP Khan.

When asked about the purported videos of the incident, he added, “The authenticity of the videos cannot be confirmed”.

The complainant said, “I hope for a fair investigation and justice.”