Under fire for detention of couples, UP govt tells police don’t transgress
The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday informed the Delhi high court about the direction after it expressed concerns over the repeated incidents of illegal detention of young couples in Delhi
The Uttar Pradesh government has told the Delhi high court that it has issued circulars and “taken steps” to ensure the state police did not transgress by entering neighbouring states without prior information to their counterparts.
The submission on Wednesday came after the court expressed concerns over the repeated incidents of illegal detention of young couples in Delhi without informing the local police.
The court was hearing a newly married couple’s plea against their illegal detention without informing Delhi Police in February.
Additional advocate general Garima Parshad, who appeared for the Uttar Pradesh government, told Justice Anup Bhambhani that circulars and directions have been issued to all police stations in the National Capital Region (NCR) directing that no such action should be taken in Delhi without informing the local police.
She said a three-member special investigation team was formed to look into the couple’s illegal detention.
Justice Anup Bhambhani also pulled up the Uttar Pradesh Police for arresting two relatives of the man in the case after the couple got married against the wishes of the woman’s family in October 2021.
Parshad cited the inquiry into the matter and said an inquiry has been recommended against the investigating officer in the case over procedural lapses.
In their plea, the couple told the court that they were taken from their residence in Delhi on February 17. They sought protection from the police citing a threat from the woman’s family.
The couple said they got married at an Arya Samaj Mandir on February 13 and were receiving threats from the woman’s family. They unsuccessfully sought protection from the Delhi Police.
The high court on February 16 directed in charge of Delhi’s Anand Parbat Police Station to ensure the safety and security of the petitioners.
On February 18, the court was informed that people believed to be police officers from Uttar Pradesh’s Modi Nagar took away the petitioners. The woman was “handed over to her family members” and the man was “lifted/arrested”.
Parshad told the court they have filed an additional status report and footage showing the man’s brother persuading the couple to accompany them to Modi Nagar Police Station.
The court said a deeper analysis was required in the matter after checking the CCTV footage. It added faces of those who took away the couple were invisible to the naked eye and added that the footage appeared to be “truncated”.
The court issued a notice to the Delhi Police asking them to examine the footage to obtain facial shots of people seen in the video.