Mumbai: Cop who punched teen boy in face gets 3 years rigorous imprisonment

MUMBAI: A 37-year-old dismissed police constable was convicted and sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment for assaulting a 14-year-old school student and leaving him with a bloody nose and mouth for leaning on his parked scooter near a Dadar bus stop in 2016.
Accused Shailesh Kadam saw the minor from the window of his building behind the bus stop, yelled at him and then rushed down and assaulted him.
The court said the accused brutally assaulted the student over a trivial issue without considering his age. “The grievance is serious as the accused was a police personnel and it was his duty to protect the helpless, children and needy persons,” said metropolitan magistrate Pravin P Deshmane. The court also fined the accused Rs 50,000, of which Rs 25,000 will be given to the teenager as compensation for the mental trauma caused.
The magistrate court also pointed out that the accused has been booked in several molestation cases.
Police official’s character is tainted: Court
It said that in 2015, he was suspended after he allegedly misbehaved with a lady colleague and created a scene at Juhu police station by damaging property and brandishing a knife to intimidate officers. “These cases are sufficient to show criminal tendency of the accused to use force and misbehave,” the court said.
The injured minor and his friend, an eye witness, both deposed in court and identified the accused. The minor’s father also deposed in the court. The minor said that on the afternoon of January 22, 2016, he was at Hindamata bus stop, and since there were no seats at the bus stop, he leaned on the scooter parked on the footpath. When the accused saw him from the building behind the bus stop, he yelled at him and then came down and slapped and punched him. When his friend tried to intervene, the accused threatened to chop him to pieces. The minor said when he finally managed to return home, he confided in his father. An FIR was lodged at Bhoiwada police station. The accused was arrested and granted bail a week later.
Refusing to grant leniency, the court said the deterrent approach is necessary as the accused has a tainted character and aggressive behavioural pattern.