Adding to the agony of the man who complained against police atrocities after he and his friend had jumped a signal on a bike on May 2, the police have now thrown him behind bars and slapped more stringent cases on him. Bilal Abdul Qadir Sheikh, a 45-year-old fabrication worker from Kalyan, had complained to the Thane Police Commissioner that the traffic police present at the signal had beaten him up mercilessly, breaking his arm even though he was willing to pay the fine and even refusing to register his complaint.
Bilal is now serving 14 days in judicial custody after the police have slapped a non-bailable offence on him under Section 333 of the Indian Penal Code for voluntarily causing grievous hurt to deter a public servant from performing his duty.
“This is travesty of justice. The policemen who severely injured him, making it necessary for him undergo a complicated surgery, were booked under lighter sections. They were immediately granted bail by the court. But Bilal has to be in prison for standing up against the ill-treatment,” Saalim Abdul Qadir Sheikh, his brother, told The Hindu .
Dr. Saalim said that a little after his brother had felt better post-surgery, he had decided to present himself at the police station. “The policemen first tried to dissuade us. They asked us to go away and come after a few days, after he felt better. But we insisted that we will get on the procedure then itself,” Dr. Saalim said.
According to the First Information Report filed against Bilal on May 2, he was booked under Sections 353, 323 and 34 of the IPC. Section 353 pertains to use of criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty while Section 323 is the punishment for voluntarily causing hurt and Section 34 is about common intention.
‘Helpless’
But on May 16, the shocked family came to know of the additional charges after Bilal was taken to the court. “Our lawyer was prepared to argue on the basis of the copy of the FIR we had. When he saw that the police remand application mentioned section 333 as well, he felt helpless,” Dr. Saalim said.
The family is in the process of filing a bail application. “If a person is booked under this section, bail cannot be granted by the magistrate. We will have to go to the sessions court,” he said.
Meanwhile, there is no word about the inquiry ordered by the Thane Police Commissioner in the matter.
