While rejecting the Police investigation, Chief Judicial Magistrate of Kishtwar, Ajay Kumar Gupta, on Monday directed registration of a criminal case against the Jammu and Kashmir Minister of State for Home Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo. Mr. Kichloo had allegedly slapped the Chief Executive Officer of Kishtwar Development Authority, Riyaz Choudhary, for reaching late at an official meeting in Kishtwar on April 18.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police Doda-Kishtwar range has been directed to monitor the investigation.
The judge had earlier entertained the complainant Mr. Choudhary’s petition and directed the Station House Officer (SHO) to conduct an investigation.
The judge noticed that though the SHO had been given 15 days for a thorough investigation, he submitted a report on the fourth day itself, without even recording the complainant’s statement and registration of FIR. The report has exonerated the accused Minister of all charges of assault.
The complainant has approached the judicial court with a petition under section 156 (3) of Criminal Procedure Code while claiming that the police had declined to register FIR on his complaint. According to him, Mr. Kichloo had slapped him repeatedly for reaching late when Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was on a visit to lay the foundation stone of a university campus.
When media played up the incident and the union of over 700 top and middle ranking officers of Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) took up the matter with the Chief Minister, Mr. Abdullah publicly snubbed his junior colleague. He called the incident “unbecoming as a Minister and public representative,” advising the Minister to “sit down with the officer concerned and resolve the matter amicably.” On behalf of his colleague, Mr. Abdullah reportedly assured the association that Mr. Kichloo would apologise to the complainant and sort out the matter. Not satisfied with the Chief Minister’s assurance and coupled with Mr. Kichloo’s failure to settle the issue with the complainant, Mr. Choudhary filed the criminal complaint.
