Police functioning under HC lens

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 22

The functioning of the Haryana Police has come under scanner with the registration of multiple FIRs on the same day against a person in two police stations.

Holding that the action gave rise to suspicion, the HC today directed Sirsa and Fatehabad SPs to verify the investigation in both cases. Directions for the submission of a status report were issued.

The directions by Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan came on a petition filed by Chuni Ram against Haryana for the grant of interim bail in an FIR registered on February 22 under the provisions of the NDPS Act at the Nathusari Chopta police station in Sirsa district.

The state counsel placed before Justice Sangwan’s Court the petitioner’s custody certificate, a perusal of which showed that he was also involved in another case registered on the same date under the same provisions of the NDPS Act at the Sadar police station in Fatehabad district.

Referring to the details of one of the FIRs, Justice Sangwan observed that the allegations in the case were that the petitioner opted to be searched before a gazetted officer at the spot after the police officials gave him a notice.

The investigating officer called up Nathusari Chopta BDPO to come to the spot, but the officer stated that he was busy in his office. As such, the accused, along with a plastic bag and the motorcycle, be produced before him in his office. Thereafter, the investigating officer took the petitioner to the BDPO’s office, where further proceedings regarding the recovery were initiated.

Justice Sangwan also took note of the submission by the petitioner’s counsel that proper procedure was not followed. The petitioner was implicated in the present case, as well as the other FIR, in which he was nominated on the disclosure statement made by another accused.

“The registration of two FIRs on the same day in different police station raises suspicion as the petitioner, aged about 31 as per custody certificate, is not having any previous history of involvement in any case under the NDPS Act…,” Justice Sangwan asserted before fixing the case for further hearing in April last week.

from The Tribune https://ift.tt/3vOlQut