An alleged custodial death and allegations of sexual abuse inside the Wadala Railway Police station in Mumbai has forced the authorities to initiate inquiry of around 12 police officers, including a lady officer.
The four young men, one of them is dead and another is a minor, were picked up by the Government Railway Police officers on the night of April 15 from the Rey Road area in South Mumbai for allegedly stealing a gold chain.
Three days later on April 18, one of the four accused, Agnello Valdaris, 25, died allegedly due to severe beating in the police custody. The GRP claimed that he was run over by a local train while trying to escape.
However, the statements given by other three accused and Agnello’s father, Leonard Valdaris, while registering a complaint after the incident which are available with The Hindu , allege the custodial murder and merciless beating of all four young men during three days. The statements also allege sexual abuse of three others.
“I have no doubt that my son was tortured and killed by the personnel of Wadala Railway Police Station. He could not possibly have run or escaped from their custody as he was in no condition to walk when I saw him at 8 pm on the previous evening of 17th April 2014,” said the statement of Mr. Valdaris.
“The police have killed my son because they were scared that he was going to complain about the torture to the Magistrate. Only in order to save themselves the police have come up with the train story to cover their misdeeds,” the statement said. The other three statements also match with the details of custodial torture and the physical condition of Agnello on April 17.
“Mane and Kamble (GRP constables) sexually abused them (other two accused). I refused, but they made me do it by threatening to beat me if I did not,” said one of the victims of alleged sexual abuse in his statement. He was also stripped naked and was made to run outside the police station.
The victims will also be filing a writ petition in the Bombay High Court seeking installation of CCTV cameras in all rooms in every police station and also the transfer of investigation to the CBI.
The official statement issued by the GRP said that the CID is inquiring in to the death. “The complaints of other accused were received a month after the incident. It has been forwarded to the CID for free and fair investigation,” said the statement, while describing Agnello as a ‘seasoned criminal.’
Meanwhile, one of the victims has once again complained about the intimidation from the concerned police officers and accused of pressurizing them to withdraw the complaint.
Advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhry, who will represent the victims in the court, told The Hindu that departmental inquiry will hardly bring any justice. “The utter futility of any police investigation into this crime can be gauged from the fact that the letter intimating the victims of such an investigation was delivered to them by none other than the very same police officer who perpetrated these acts on them,” he said.
Mr. Chaudhry added that Maharashtra has had the highest number of custodial deaths in 12 of the last 13 years, there have been no convictions, and this inhuman practice continues unabated.
