E-Paper
Caught in their own net: Chandigarh court orders FIR against two constables for false case
The cops had accused two men of assaulting them, CCTV footage showed the opposite.
A Chandigarh district court on Tuesday ordered registration of a first-information report (FIR) against two UT police constables — Mukesh and Devinder — for falsely implicating two persons in a fake case.
The court also acquitted the two victims: Saurav Mahajan and Mohan Singh.
While giving the directions, the court of judicial magistrate first class (JMIC) Jaspreet Singh said it was an “unfortunate case” that had shaken the credibility of police officials and undermined the faith of a common man in police, which is supposed to protect life and liberty and maintain law and order.
The court also directed the senior superintendent of police (SSP) to comply with the court directions.
The case dates back to December 15, 2010, when constables Mukesh and Devinder booked the two under Section 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act. It was alleged that Saurav and Mohan abused and manhandled the two cops. It was also alleged that Mohan thrashed Devendra.
Meanwhile, Saurav and Mohan approached the Punjab and Haryana high court for quashing the FIR on the ground that the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage proved their innocence.
The footage showed the two constables beating them, instead of the other way round. While the HC ordered to check veracity of the CD carrying the footage, charges were framed against them and trial began.
However, after hearing the arguments, the local court acquitted the two, as it had been established that the police started the scuffle.
