The father of a young man who died in police custody in Mumbai last month has objected to the suspension of two Government Railway Police (GRP) constables on Monday, saying the move is an attempt to shield them from murder charges.
Twenty-five year old >Agnello Valdaris died in the custody of the Wadala police station on April 18 allegedly after being severely beaten. He and three others had been picked up by the Government Railway Police a few days earlier on charges of stealing a gold chain.
“I am not happy at all. I want them to be arrested and sent to prison under murder charges. Suspending them for negligence clearly means that the authorities are trying to save both of them,” said Leonard Valdaris, father of Agnello.
The GRP's internal investigation has already cleared the men of murder charges, even though a CID inquiry is on. It has suspended the two constables - Ravindra Mane and Suresh Mane - for ‘negligence’ while escorting the victim. The GRP had claimed the victim was run over by a local train while trying to escape.
“We suspended them because the accused escaped from their custody while being taken to the police station. It was pure negligence on their part,” said Jitendra Rathod, senior inspector at the Wadala Railway police station.
Despite repeated attempts, GRP commissioner Prabhat Kumar was not available for the comment. Meanwhile, Yug Mohit Chaudhry who is representing the victims said CID is refusing to record the statements regarding the sexual abuse. “We have filed a complaint with the CID superior officer. It is imperative for a full and fair investigation that this case be investigated by the CBI and not by any branch of the Maharashtra police,” he said.
