Mumbai Police deny claims of assault during lockdown

In an affidavit filed in the Bombay high court (HC), the Mumbai Police have refuted the allegations that a porter was stopped and assaulted by police while enforcing

In an affidavit filed in the Bombay high court (HC), the Mumbai Police have refuted the allegations that a porter was stopped and assaulted by police while enforcing lockdown in south Mumbai. The said porter allegedly succumbed to the injuries.

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Iqbal Gani Avalkar, an inspector attached to JJ Marg police station, filed the affidavit in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Firdause Irani, who claimed that he himself, his wife and two sons were badly beaten up by local police personnel and civic officials outside his residence at Goregaon (West).

Claiming that there have been several instances of police excesses under the guise of enforcing lockdown, Irani had cited report of a human rights organisation claiming that at least 15 persons have died due police high handedness during Covid-19 lockdown, and those include two from Mumbai.

The two persons were identified in the report as 47-year-old Sameer Jamal Khan, who was allegedly assaulted by policemen in south Mumbai, and Raju Velu Devendra, who was allegedly beaten to death by personnel attached to Juhu police station.

Avalkar has refuted the claim and said Khan, who was carrying a refrigerator and two cloth bundles on a handcart to Null Bazaar locality, was not even stopped by police anywhere, which was corroborated by CCTV footages.

In the case of Devendra, assistant commissioner of police Dattatray Bhargude filed an affidavit stating that the investigation into his death has not proceeded further as the family members of the deceased did not come forward to record their statements despite repeated requests. He further added that he could not summon any witness as the spot of incidence lies in a containment zone.

The bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice NJ Jamadar adjourned Irani’s petition for two weeks to enable the police to file affidavit in reply to his allegations about him and his family members being beaten up.

Irani, a lawyer and human rights activist, alleged that on April 16, 2020, he, his wife and two sons were assaulted by sticks by policemen and civic officials for no apparent reason. On Tuesday, Irani pointed out to the court that after the incident he has received hundreds of complaints from people having faced police excesses during the lockdown.