MUMBAI: The state told the Bombay high court on Thursday that four constables from Juhu police station who assaulted a 22-year-old man during the lockdown on March 30 have been identified. Police had initially claimed that he was lynched by a mob during a robbery attempt at Nehru Nagar, Santacruz (west).
A status report on the case by Dattatray Bhargude, assistant commissioner of police (Bandra division), who is probing the death of the man, Raju Devendra, was submitted to the court by government pleader Poornima Kantharia.
The judges referred to the identification of the four constables as “one significant development”. The report also stated that the four had assaulted Devendra “while on night duty on March 29 and it is proposed to conduct departmental proceedings against them”.
‘There was no mob, police used fibre lathis on man’
The high court was hearing a PIL filed by advocate Firdause Irani on police excesses during the lockdown, including two deaths in Mumbai. On July 17, a bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai had rapped the state government for not checking the CCTV footage to identify the persons involved in the assault on Raju Devendra.
As directed by the court, Kantharia said she had viewed the footage and “did not find any member of the public being part of any mob assaulting the deceased; on the contrary, the four policemen are seen to have used fibre lathis in a bid to discipline the deceased”. But she pointed out that whether Devendra succumbed to the assault injuries needed further investigation. To the court’s query, Kantharia said the cops were in civil clothes.
The judges said, “It is distressing to note that from April 18 (when Bhargude took over the probe) till July 10, no investigation was embarked upon by the assistant commissioner of police.”
They directed him to proceed with the probe and file a further status report on the progress made. They also sought to know the decision on the proposal to institute departmental proceedings.
The ACP was directed to issue notices to Devendra’s mother and brother, who are witnesses, to record their statements. Posting the hearing for August 6, the judges said they proposed to pass further orders after looking at the status report.
A status report on the case by Dattatray Bhargude, assistant commissioner of police (Bandra division), who is probing the death of the man, Raju Devendra, was submitted to the court by government pleader Poornima Kantharia.
The judges referred to the identification of the four constables as “one significant development”. The report also stated that the four had assaulted Devendra “while on night duty on March 29 and it is proposed to conduct departmental proceedings against them”.
‘There was no mob, police used fibre lathis on man’
The high court was hearing a PIL filed by advocate Firdause Irani on police excesses during the lockdown, including two deaths in Mumbai. On July 17, a bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai had rapped the state government for not checking the CCTV footage to identify the persons involved in the assault on Raju Devendra.
As directed by the court, Kantharia said she had viewed the footage and “did not find any member of the public being part of any mob assaulting the deceased; on the contrary, the four policemen are seen to have used fibre lathis in a bid to discipline the deceased”. But she pointed out that whether Devendra succumbed to the assault injuries needed further investigation. To the court’s query, Kantharia said the cops were in civil clothes.
The judges said, “It is distressing to note that from April 18 (when Bhargude took over the probe) till July 10, no investigation was embarked upon by the assistant commissioner of police.”
They directed him to proceed with the probe and file a further status report on the progress made. They also sought to know the decision on the proposal to institute departmental proceedings.
The ACP was directed to issue notices to Devendra’s mother and brother, who are witnesses, to record their statements. Posting the hearing for August 6, the judges said they proposed to pass further orders after looking at the status report.
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