Police claim ‘dead man’ is alive after court orders case against two COs

Kanpur: Days after a court ordered penal action against two circle officers of police in Jalaun for filing an FIR and chargesheeting a man whose family says had died 17 years ago, police on Wednesday claimed that the man was in fact alive and lodged in a UP jail.
As per the affidavit of the dead man’s father, the COs have been accused of filing a chargesheet without investigation while the complainant and four witnesses were accused of perjury.
The strange matter has come to fore from Jalaun district’s Orai township, where a case had been filed under SC/ST Act at the Kadaura police station of the district against a man who died 17 years ago. Not only this, but after investigation the police got the testimony of five people including the complainant done and also filed a chargesheet in the court. The judicial official was shocked when the deceased’s father submitted that his son died 17 years before the registration of the FIR.
Subsequently, on April 3 the judge ordered a case against two circle officers (COs) and the five witnesses accusing them of negligence. The order reached the Kadaura police station on Tuesday.
Advocate Hemant Dwivedi, who’s representing the case on behalf of the father of the deceased, told the media on Tuesday that Qasim, son of Idris and former head of Chatela Gram Samaj of Kadaura police station area of the Jalaun, died on December 15, 2003.
“Despite this, on July 13, 2020, on the complaint of Ram Singh, a resident of the village itself, a case was registered against Idris and his son Qasim under various IPC sections and also SC/ST Act,” he said. He further added that not only this, the then CO (I) Rajeev Pratap Singh and CO (II) Santosh Kumar, without conducting any investigation, had filed a chargesheet against Qasim in the court. “In fact, Qasim had died 17 years prior to the complaint and registration of the FIR,” said Dwivedi and added, “A plea was filed in the CJM court by Idris stating that his son had passed away 17 years back, but a charge sheet was filed against him by falsely registering a case against him.”
Taking the matter seriously, chief judicial magistrate Mahendra Kumar Rawat had on April 3 during a hearing ordered to book a case against the then CO Kalpi and investigating officer Rajeev Pratap Singh (RP Singh), CO Santosh Kumar and complainant Ram Singh, his son Gyan Singh and their relatives including Munna, his wife Hirakli and brother Vijay Pal.
“After receiving the order of the court, a case has been booked in this regard by Kadaura police station on April 25,” said the police.
Inspector in-charge of Kadaura police station Yogesh Pathak said on Wednesday, “On the instructions of senior officers, a case has been booked against seven persons including two circle officers and five others including a complainant and witnesses on Tuesday. The truth of the matter is that the man who is being declared dead is alive and is lodged in a jail. We will compile all these facts and inform the court soon. Further investigations are on in this regard.”