Probe against cops who arrested minors without telling Delhi police: Raj Police to HC

The high court on Tuesday had directed the Rajasthan police to file a status report indicating the reasons for arresting two minors

The Rajasthan Police informed the Delhi High Court on Wednesday that it has initiated an inquiry against the erring police officials who arrested two minors in Delhi without notifying the local police.

A report will be submitted on or before October 8. (Representative file photo)

The police personnel, represented by Ajmer superintendent of police (SP) Vandita Rana, further submitted before a bench of justices Jyoti Singh and Anish Dayal that the police personnel in their inquiry commenced on Tuesday, were also probing the procedural lapses in the investigation.

She also assured the court that the matter will be handled with due responsibility and sensitivity, and that a report would be submitted on or before October 8.

Rana informed the court about the action, in a habeas corpus petition filed by one of the minors’ mother.

She claimed that on September 26, around 5pm, the two were unlawfully and forcibly taken away by unidentified individuals in civilian clothes. She further stated that she and her relatives waited in the park throughout the night, but the boys never returned.

She said that though her relatives went to the Janakpuri police station around 9pm on September 26, they were asked to contact the Hari Nagar police station, which also did not have any clue about the boys’ whereabouts.

The woman, represented by advocate Archit Krishna, told the court that the two detainees were relatives of 24-year-old Deva Pardhi, a tribal man who died in Madhya Pradesh police custody last year following alleged brutality.

The high court on Tuesday had directed the Rajasthan police to file a status report indicating the reasons for arresting two minors, following a confirmation by inspector PS Vikram Singh Rathore of the Pushkar Police Station that the minors were detained in connection with an alleged robbery case, without informing the Delhi Police.

On Wednesday, the court further directed the Delhi Police to preserve the CCTV footage from the area where the minors were apprehended. It also instructed the Rajasthan Police to file an updated status report, noting that the matters concerning inter-state arrest, unlawful apprehension, and detention warranted careful examination.”

“Having given our thoughtful consideration to the respective submissions of the parties and on perusal of the status reports filed by the Delhi Police as also the Rajasthan Police, we are of the view that issues raised by the Petitioner, more particularly, with respect to inter-State arrest, illegal apprehension and detention need consideration. Updated Status Report will be filed by the State of Rajasthan along with a copy of the inquiry report,” the court said in its order.

The matter will be next heard on October 8.