The Maharashtra government on Thursday informed the Bombay High Court that four policemen, who assaulted a man on the night of March 29 during lockdown, have been identified.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Firdause Irani citing instances of police brutality inflicted on kirana shop and dairy store owners during lockdown. The PIL says that uniformed police personnel, without name badges, accompanied by local youth, municipal workers in civil dress were at the forefront of these acts of violence.
In his status report filed on Thursday, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Bandra division, has said, “four policemen have been identified, who allegedly assaulted the deceased while on night duty on March 29, 2020, and it is proposed to conduct departmental proceedings against them.”
Government pleader Poornima Kantharia, appearing for the State, said she has personally viewed the CCTV footage and did not find any member of the public being part of any mob assaulting the deceased; on the contrary, the four policemen, referred above, are seen to have used fiber lathis to discipline the deceased. She further said that whether the deceased succumbed to the injuries inflicted by reason of such assault is a matter which needs further investigation.
Noting that from April 18 till July 10 no probe was conducted in the case, the Bench directed the ACP to proceed with the investigation and file a further status report by August 6 on the progress made towards conclusion of investigation and filing of police report under Section 173 (report of police officer on completion of investigation) of Code Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The Bench also directed the ACP to issue notices to the mother and the brother of the deceased under Section 160 (police officer’s power to require attendance of witnesses) of CrPC as they are vital witnesses and have not cooperated with the investigation or recorded their statements.
