On Tuesday, a Pune Court heard troubling allegations surrounding a late afternoon police operation at a women's hostel in Kothrud, where three residents claimed they were forcibly taken from their flat, insulted on the basis of caste and subjected to sexually abusive remarks. According to the complaint, the officers arrived in plain clothes, entered the flat without any identification and allegedly assaulted the women while claiming that they were tracing a missing person. The account described fear, confusion and a complete misuse of authority that left the women traumatised and seeking urgent judicial help.
The incident traced back to August when a woman from another city, who said she was being harassed by her in-laws, temporarily stayed with three women in Kothrud. After her in-laws filed a missing person complaint, the police from that city contacted the local police and arrived at the flat along with the woman's father-in-law. The three residents of the flat stated that, despite having done nothing wrong, they were questioned aggressively, taken to the police station and subjected to humiliating slurs along with verbal and physical abuse.
When their attempt to register an FIR at the Kothrud police station failed, one of the women approached the court and filed a criminal miscellaneous application under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The application sought registration of offences under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including dacoity, abduction for wrongful confinement, house trespass with preparation for hurt, use of criminal force with intent to outrage modesty, voluntary hurt, intentional insult, criminal intimidation and joint criminal liability. The applicant also invoked provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989 and Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act 1971. The allegations included illegal entry into the flat non disclosure of identity, taking private photographs, assault threats and repeated caste based humiliation both at the flat and at the police station.
In their submissions, the complainants argued that the officers completely disregarded lawful procedure. They said the police arrived in plain clothes, offered no identification, brought a private person during the operation and abused their authority to intimidate and humiliate them. They maintained that the acts of the officers reflected clear bias, caste prejudice and an unjustified use of power against women who had no role in the missing person complaint.
The Court, after examining the application affidavit and material on record, made serious observations on the conduct of the officers. It noted that the general diary entries showed the officers were looking for a missing woman, but their actions went far beyond a lawful inquiry. The court observed that searching a private residence without disclosing identity and without following proper procedure could not be justified under any circumstance. It noted that the allegations of humiliation, physical assault, taking private photographs and abuse at the police station produced a picture of conduct that amounted to cognizable offences and raised fundamental questions about the misuse of police authority.
After considering the facts and the gravity of the allegations, the Court concluded that the content placed before it revealed the commission of serious cognizable offences that required immediate action. It directed that an FIR be registered against all eight accused and that the investigation be carried out under the supervision of an officer of the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police. The city police authorities stated that they would proceed upon receiving the official order.
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