Facing flack for the tardy probe into the Sangli custodial death, the government on Thursday transferred district superintendent of police Dattatray Shinde and deputy superintendent of police Deepali Kale.
Shinde was transferred to State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) while Kale was posted as assistant commissioner of police at Solapur city police, the note from the home ministry said.
Both Shinde and Kale had come under criticism for laxity in the probe into the custodial death. The duo had received show-cause notices from inspector general of police (Kolhapur range) Vishwas Nagre Patil, who had asked them to file their replies within eight days.
Aniket Kothale, 26, who was arrested by Sangli city police on November 6, along with another man identified as Amol Bhandare for robbing a motor-bike-borne man, died in police custody allegedly due to police torture. As the probe was later handed over to the Crime Investigation Department (CID), five policemen were arrested, while seven others were suspended, following the allegations that Kothale died in the custody due to excessive force.
Based on the allegations of torture made by Bhandare, six men, including five policemen, have been arrested under Sections 302 (murder), 330 (causing hurt to extort confession), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), 331 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt to extort confession) and 34 of the IPC.
The arrested policemen were suspended and have been dismissed from service. Seven others have been suspended for being in the police station at the time of the incident. Following his death, the local police allegedly tried to burn his body in order to destroy the evidence.
{{/usCountry}}The arrested policemen were suspended and have been dismissed from service. Seven others have been suspended for being in the police station at the time of the incident. Following his death, the local police allegedly tried to burn his body in order to destroy the evidence.
{{/usCountry}}After the incident, Kothale’s family had alleged that both Shinde and Kale did not act fast despite knowing about the actual incident.
The death of Kothale prompted inspector general of police, law and order, to ask all police units in the state to exercise restrain while extracting information from criminals and use scientific methods.