Gurgaon: A chartered accountant (CA) was stripped inside Saran police station lockup, and a video of the incident, filmed by his brother-in-law with the help of police, was shared on social media. Taking cognisance of the incident, Haryana Human Rights Commission (HHRC) imposed a fine of Rs 50K on a sub-inspector and a constable, ordering that the amount be deducted from their salary.CA Anil Thakur, who is also a person with physical disability, was going through a dispute with his wife. On April 6, 2021, his wife filed a complaint against him under sections 354D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC at Saran police station, following which he was arrested from his residence in Faridabad on May 24, 2021, and taken to Saran police station.In his complaint, he alleged that while in custody, he was stripped, photographed, and filmed, and that these videos were later circulated on social media. The incident, which was a grave violation of his human rights, caused him extreme mental trauma and public humiliation, he said.The CA approached HHRC in June 2021, following which the commission sought a report on the incident from Faridabad police commissioner. The report, submitted in Aug 2021, confirmed that the CA was arrested but denied his stripping and harassment. However, in Sept 2021, the commission directed the police to form an inquiry committee and look through the CCTV footage of the given date.The committee, in its report, said that while the man was kept naked in the lock-up, it was a voluntary act and done due to the heat. The CCTV footage could not be retrieved, it added.After the commission went through the report and gave the police directions to review it, a fresh report was submitted by the police. In this it was mentioned that ASI Jagwati and constable Rakesh Kumar detained the man and instructed him to remove his clothes, leaving him with only his underwear on. The report admitted the negligence of the officials in performance of their duties.The full bench of the commission, comprising chairperson Justice Lalit Batra and members Kuldip Jain and Deep Bhatia, observed that the conduct of police amounted to a serious violation of the human rights of the man. “The conduct of police officials constitutes a blatant abuse of authority and breach of the minimum standard of human treatment,” said the commission. “Reducing a detainee to a semi-nude condition, without cause and in a custodial setting, constitutes humiliation and psychological abuse,” it said, adding that it was “shocking” that the police even permitted his relative to record his videos during his detention.Puneet Arora, protocol, information & public relations officer of the commission, said that HHRC ordered the payment of Rs 50,000 as compensation to the victim and the amount was to be recovered equally from the guilty police officials — ASI Jagwati and Constable Rakesh Kumar.“Police custody must not turn into a site of torture and shame. This order sends a clear message that the system will not tolerate custodial abuse or the misuse of power,” said Arora.The commission further highlighted that the compensation issued was not intended to represent the full measure of the harm suffered by the complainant but was awarded as a symbolic acknowledgment of the violation of his human rights and human dignity.
