The Allahabad High Court on Tuesday ordered an inquiry into the assault on a government lawyer by police in Etah in Uttar Pradesh and directed the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of the district to submit a report on the findings.
The police meanwhile said that they had resorted to using “necessary force” against the lawyer and his family to evict them from the spot in order to prevent escalation of law and order problems and communal tension in the locality after a Muslim youth was shot in the abdomen in firing.
Police have accused Rajendra Sharma, who is additional district government counsel, of using his licensed pistol to fire at the government officials and police team that had reached his house on December 21 on a complaint of him trying to forcibly capture his neighbour’s property.
Taking suo motu cognisance, the High Court sought a complete report of the incident from the CJM of Etah. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh directed the CJM of Etah to conduct the inquiry by availing all relevant facts, including audio and video documents and submit the report on or before January 8. The court also directed the district police chief and District Magistrate of Etah to cooperate with the CJM.
The judges had taken into consideration letters and memoranda sent to the Chief Justice of the High Court by lawyers agitated over the incident, including one by the Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh.
The matter relates to an old property dispute over the ownership of a house between Rajendra Sharma and Avinash Sharma, another lawyer, in Katra Mohalla in the Kotwali area of Etah.
According to the police, Mr. Rajendra had been staying in a portion of the house as tenant for the last 30 years, while tenant Rekha Sharma lived in the other part of the house. Both Rajendra Sharma and Avinash Sharma had claimed in 2013 that they had deeds for the entire house; Mr. Avinash’s claim included the portion in which Ms. Rekha lived.
Property dispute
The dispute over the ownership of the house between Mr. Rajendra and Mr. Avinash is sub-judice in a local civil court. In October 2019, Ms. Rekha submitted a capitulation letter in court in favour of evicting from her portion for Mr. Avinash, which the court accepted, said police. And when Ms. Rekha got construction done in the back portion of the disputed house, Mr. Rajendra got a stay in the matter, police added.
On December 21, when Ms. Rekha had gone to Agra for the medical treatment of a relative, Mr. Rajendra allegedly beat up the caretaker of the house Gaya Prasad Jatav, threw away his belongings and used casteist language against him, police alleged.
Mr. Rajendra then brought his belongings to the house and started building a brick wall near the door from the inside to grab the property, police further alleged.
Sunil Kumar Singh, Superintendent of Police (SP), Etah, said that when officials reached the spot to address the issue, Mr. Rajendra allegedly started firing at them with his licensed gun while his family members, including women, threw stones at them. Police also released a video of the alleged acts.
In the chaos, a bystander identified as Arbaaz, 22, was shot in the abdomen, following which he was rushed to hospital, said Mr. Singh. To prevent a serious law and order challenge and communal tension from flaring up, Mr. Rajendra and his family were “evicted safely” from the house using “necessary force”, in a decision taken in the presence of a Magistrate, the SP said.
Video shared
A video of the incident, shared widely on social media, showed a police team breaking a door in the rear end of the house before raining down lathis and boots on Mr. Rajendra, who was then dragged along the ground. Mr. Rajendra and six family members, including his brother, son, daughter and daughter-in-law, were booked under various clauses of the Indian Penal Code and the SC/ST Act.
The incident caused much uproar among advocates in the State who even staged demonstrations calling for action against the police involved.
The SP of Etah, however, defended the manner in which the lawyer and his family were evicted from the house.
“If the police had not taken such action, given the circumstances and sensitivity of the situation, there would have been major casualties and even communal riots could have taken place,” said Mr. Singh.
The alleged misbehaviour by the police would be probed by an additional SP rank officer.
A separate FIR under attempt to murder was lodged against Mr. Rajendra for allegedly firing at the bystander who suffered injuries.
