In a chilling revelation of alleged custodial torture, police officers in Gurugram forced a blindfolded attempt-to-murder suspect to pick a folded slip of paper to decide his “punishment”, before breaking his leg based on the draw.
Event Context
The incident came to light following an order passed by judicial magistrate first class Mandeep Singh in Sohna. Taking cognisance of the magistrate’s findings, the rights body directed Haryana director general of police (DGP) to initiate an independent inquiry led by an inspector-general (IG) rank officer.
After the accused picked up the slip marked “LL fracture”, he was allegedly taken out of the lock-up, blindfolded and made to lie on the ground. The left leg of the accused was placed between two bricks and struck with a heavy blunt object, “fracturing the leg.” He further alleged that he was forced to tell that he had fallen from a bridge.
“The judicial magistrate has specifically observed that while the allegations (of the accused) have not been accepted as established facts, they have been levelled with seriousness, details and consistency and they warrant an immediate, fair and independent inquiry,” reads the order of Justice (retd) Lalit Batra, chairperson of the HHRC, released on Thursday.
“The judicial order discloses allegations of an extremely grave nature concerning the treatment allegedly meted out to the accused while in police custody, raising serious issues relating to the protection of human rights, custodial safeguards and the rule of law.”
Accused not produced before court
The judicial magistrate’s order says that even after police custody of the accused was over, the accused was not physically produced before the court. Instead, the police submitted a status report stating that while being taken for recovery, the accused had allegedly attempted to escape from police custody by jumping from a flyover, resulting in injuries to his leg and leading to hospitalisation.
As the accused was not produced before the court, the magistrate interacted with him through video conferencing from the hospital.
The HHRC order says that the accused told the magistrate that he had not sustained injuries due to a fall from the flyover and that his left leg was fractured by police officials while he was in custody.
As per the judicial order, the accused alleged that after obtaining police custody, he was taken to the police station, kept in the lock-up and later taken out from the lock-up at around 7pm to 8pm on June 29 to an open area within the police station premises where several police officials were allegedly present.
The accused stated that police threatened him with dire consequences, including being shot dead, if he disclosed the true facts before the doctor or the court.
The HHRC stated that the judicial order further records that the explanation furnished in the police status report regarding the alleged escape and fall from a flyover “raises several questions” requiring independent scrutiny.
Considering the gravity of the allegations “recorded in the judicial order”, the HHRC recommended to the DGP Haryana to get the matter inquired by IG rank police officer and submit “a detailed factual report” at least one week before September 24, the next date of hearing.
The HHRC also directed the Gurugram commissioner of police to ensure the immediate preservation of all CCTV footage of the police station Sohna for the relevant period, while the chief medical officer of Gurugram has been directed to submit the report of the medical board constituted after the judicial order.
Player Focus
“The accused further alleged that he was compelled to choose one out of four folded slips allegedly containing the words “death”, “fracture”, “bullet injury” and “reward money”. After he picked the slip containing the word “LL fracture”, he was…blindfolded, made to lie on the ground, his left leg was placed between two bricks and a heavy blunt object was allegedly used to strike the middle portion of his leg, causing a fracture,” says the HHRC order, quoting the order of magistrate.
“The court (of the magistrate) also observed that prima facie, the injury pattern requires proper medical examination to ascertain whether it was medically consistent with the police version,” said justice Batra in his order.
After meeting the accused personally in the hospital, the judicial magistrate directed shifting the accused to judicial custody, prohibited the concerned police officials from interacting with him, ordered a change of investigating officer and directed Gurugram commissioner of police to conduct an independent fact-finding inquiry. The judicial magistrate also ordered preservation of CCTV footage, lock-up footage and constituted a medical board for examination of the accused.
“The allegations emerging from the judicial order, if ultimately found to be true upon independent inquiry, disclose an alarming case of custodial violence and abuse of authority,” said the HHRC chairperson.
“The allegations are not confined merely to physical assault but suggest deliberate infliction of grievous injuries, intimidation, coercion…criminal intimidation and interference with the administration of justice. Such allegations strike at the very foundation of the rule of law and undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system.”
Team Analysis
“Considering the seriousness of the allegations and noticing certain inconsistencies requiring verification in the police version, the judicial magistrate personally visited the civil hospital, Gurugram, after court hours and recorded the statement of the accused in an atmosphere free from the presence and influence of the concerned police officials,” says the HHRC.
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According to the magistrate’s order that is the basis of HHRC’s order, the accused in his statement before the judicial magistrate alleged that policemen forced him to choose one of the four folded slips bearing the words “death”, “fracture”, “bullet injury” and “reward money”.
