Register FIR against police officials for parading 3 kids on bonnet: Rights body

The commission directed that the probe into Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar be led by an officer ranked ADGP or higher.

The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) has recommended the registration of an FIR against officials of Bharati Vidyapeeth police station over alleged custodial torture, illegal detention and public parading of eight juveniles/children in conflict with the law (CCL), including three who were tied to the bonnet of a police vehicle and paraded through Pune on July 21.

The complaint alleged that a parked vehicle and the prayers caused inconvenience to people and vehicles entering and leaving the Circuit House. Police subsequently registered an FIR on Friday. (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

In an interim order issued on Wednesday, a full bench of the commission directed the director-general of police (DGP) Maharashtra to treat the fact-finding committee’s report and annexures as the FIR, and ensure an expeditious investigation.

Since the report contains allegations against Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar who holds the rank of additional director-general of police, the commission said that the investigation should be entrusted to an officer of the rank of ADGP or above.

The order records that three children were tied with rope to the bonnet of a police vehicle and publicly paraded from the Ambegaon Pathar outpost to Bharati Vidyapeeth police station. The commission said that the finding was supported by oral and electronic evidence and was not disputed by the Pune police commissioner in his affidavit.

“When law enforcement officers weaponise their authority to inflict such treatment on a child, they do not uphold rule of law but utterly dismantle it,” the commission observed. It described the public parade as “a calculated campaign of psychological warfare” that stripped the minors of their dignity and permanently branded them as criminals.

The commission also criticised the police response after the incident. It said Kumar was aware of the viral video on July 21 itself but no FIR was registered. The eight CCL allegedly remained in police custody till the late hours of July 24 without being produced before the Juvenile Justice Board within the prescribed period. The commission further noted that the police inquiry into the bonnet-parade incident was one-sided, as the statements of the children who were allegedly subjected to the incident were not recorded.

The order said that the commissioner’s show-cause notice against police officers acknowledged that the eight CCL had been illegally detained, subjected to cruelty, and not produced before the Juvenile Justice Board within the prescribed time. However, the commission criticised the use of the term “accused” for children in conflict with the law, saying that it ignored the Juvenile Justice Act.

The MSHRC also directed that part 2 of the fact-finding committee’s report be forwarded to the Bombay high court (HC) through its registrar-general for placing it before the chief justice. The matter will next be heard on October 26.

The case had earlier attracted attention after videos showed three juveniles allegedly tied to a police vehicle and paraded through the Bharati Vidyapeeth area. The MSHRC had taken suo moto cognisance of the incident on August 3 and ordered a fact-finding inquiry.