Two youths, beaten brutally by cops, await justice

The state human rights body has issued a showcause notice to Nanded deputy inspector general of police DIG after the police failed to investigate the alleged merciless thrashing of two Sikh youths four months back Scheduling the next hearing for June 22 it asked the additional chief secretary home to submit a status reportThe Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission SHRC stepped in on January 9 on the request of former judge P A Singh Chahel who had learnt about the alleged assault It had since held four hearings asking the superintendent of police SP to submit an inquiry report and appear before the panel himself The SP did neither stating that the probe could not be completed due to consistent bandobast dutyThe incidentSatwant Singh 20 and Navjyot Singh Kamthekar 21 attended a function at Nanded Sachkhand Gurudwara sahib on December 31 according to sources Around 130 am on January 1 the cousins started their journey back home to Kamtha village on their bikeSatwant Singh Navjyot Singh KamthekarAs they crossed Bhagya Nagar Road gate cops and QRT quick response team jawans stopped them and without any inquiry they allegedly started beating them up with sticks and belts They then forced Satwant and Navjyot into a van and took them to Bhagya Nagar police station and asked the incharge to file a case under the Arms Act for keeping a khanjeer daggerThe cop booked them despite seeing their injuries ldquoBoth the victims were kept in custody and then taken to the government hospital in Vazirabad where they were pressured not to reveal the beatingsrdquo said advocate Amanpal Singh KamthekarAlso read Accusedrsquos confession Chrisannrsquos actions aided her release copsldquoAfter the medical they were taken back to Bhagya Nagar police station where they were served notice instead of being produced in court They were then allowed to go home even though the offence registered against them was nonbailable Also if one weapon was recovered why were they both bookedrdquo he askedAdvocate Ashok SahaniWhen they reached home the families learnt about their ordeal and took them to hospital Satwant who had sustained serious injuries was taken to Max Multi Speciality Hospital After admitting him doctors issued a police information letter on January 3Meanwhile the families filed a complaint at Bhagya Nagar police station on January 2 against the cops and QRT jawans who assaulted them but no action was taken the lawyer said On January 5 they submitted a complaint to Nanded SP but yet no FIR was filedThe family then filed a complaint at the chief judicial magistrate court in Nanded on January 5 Advocates Ashok Sahani and Amanpal sought compensation of R20 lakh each for the youngsters from the SHRCThe SHRC filed a case on January 9No inquiry no reportAfter the registration of the case summons were issued to SP Nanded calling upon him to hold an inquiry and submit an affidavit in reply before the commissioner before February 28 But no inquiry was held and a report wasnrsquot submitted by the 28th and more time was sought Even on the next hearing ie March 14 no report was submitted by the police Irked by the lack of response SHRC summoned SP Nanded to appear before the commission on April 26 but the SP didnrsquot show up and in fact sent a letter claiming the inquiry of the matter couldnrsquot be completed due to consistent bandobast dutyIrked by the response of the SP Justice Tated issued a showcause notice to Inspector general Nanded asking why he should not take action against SP Nanded and other 10 police officers and QRT jawans present at the spot Also the additional chief secretary Home has been asked to file a status report The next hearing of the matter will be held on June 22lsquoMisuse of powerrsquoldquoIt is a case of total misuse of power by cops brutally assaulting young students of the minority community The grievances redressal mechanism is a total failure the attitude of the SP is lackadaisical and the cops believe themselves to be invincible The entire episode has put a huge burden on the victimrsquos family as they had to run around for medical treatment This is reminiscent of the George Floyd case that occurred in the US The unfortunate part is no FIR has been filed yetrdquo Advocate Shahani said01 JanuaryDay the two youth were beaten up by the police