Scrap dealers allege torture by Ludhiana police, ACP refutes claims

Three scrap dealers taken for interrogation in a burglary case have alleged torture in custody, a claim that the police refuted on Thursday

Three scrap dealers taken for interrogation in a burglary case have alleged torture in custody, a claim that the police refuted on Thursday.

One of the suspects was drunk and collapsed immediately after entering the police station, says the cop. (Shutterstock/HT Archive)

One of the dealers was admitted to a hospital after he lost consciousness. They said the police gave them a clean chit in the case after sensing that the situation was turning serious and also offered to bear the medical expenses of the hospitalised dealer in case they did not file a complaint.

One of them is Kali Prasad, 32, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, and had been living in Kakowal in Ludhiana.

He said on March 23, some police personnel turned up at his shop on Noorwala Road in two vehicles to conduct a raid.

“The cops said they were investigating a burglary case that took place at a multipurpose store and suspected that I had hid the stolen articles in my shop. I was not present at the shop at that time, but I asked them to check if they wanted,” he added.

“The police rounded up my brother Kalideen, 28, and another scrap dealer Bipin Das, also from Noorwala Road, and took them to the police station. When I reached the police station around 7.30pm, the police took us inside and thrashed us badly,” he alleged.

However, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) (North) Gurbinder Singh refuted the allegations of torture. He said the police had called on three suspects for questioning.

One of the suspects was drunk and collapsed immediately after entering the police station, he said, adding that he was then taken to the hospital.