Three police personnel from Varthur police station have been suspended for allegedly torturing a 21-year-old youth who they had illegally detained while probing a theft case. Salman Khan, who was detained for days without being produced before the magistrate, subsequently had to get his arm amputated after he was allegedly subjected to custodial violence.
The personnel were suspended on Thursday after a delegation from the National Confederation of Human Rights Organisations (NCHRO) approached Bengaluru police commissioner Kamal Pant. The suspended police have been identified as head constable Nagabhushan Gowda and constables Nagaraj B.N. and Shivaraj H.
S. Balan, senior advocate, said: “A team comprising several human rights organisations and advocates, including the NCHRO, the All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice and Campaign Against Hate Speech conducted a fact-finding into the incident a week ago. They found through inquiries that Mr. Khan had been illegally detained from October 27-31. He was neither produced before a magistrate nor was there compliance with the due procedure established by law, the report claimed. It found that he had been “subjected to extreme forms of torture at the hands of the police.”
“He was suspended from his toes, beaten up, kicked, stomped on by boots, placed in positions with a rod tied behind his back, and was kicked on his arm to such an extent that the arm was swollen. On account of the torture inflicted Mr. Khan and lost his arm which had to be amputated later. The incident was riddled with illegality, with allegations of extortion, torture and abuse coming to light,” Mr. Balan alleged at a press conference.
The human rights activists claimed that when they questioned the Police Inspector of Varthur Station, he denied any instance of police brutality. He stated that Mr. Khan had been detained and released on the same day.
The team on Thursday demanded that action be initiated against the officials under Section 220, 330, and 331 of IPC, amongst other provisions of law. They also called for a monitored inquiry against the Inspector and officials of Varthur station and that Mr. Khan and his family receive a compensation no less than ₹50 lakh. The State Human Rights Commission, Commissioner of Police and Minorities Commission must take cognisance of the incident and take strict action against erring officials, they said.
