Ludhiana: A superintendent of police and two other cops have been arrested in Punjab’s Muktsar district for allegedly torturing an advocate and forcing him into sex with another man in custody, reported PTI.
A four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Ludhiana Police Commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu, has been formed to investigate the torture allegation, said a senior official.
The SIT will be supervised by Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) Jaskaran Singh.
The state government took the action after a meeting of a delegation of the bar association of Punjab and Haryana High Court with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
Six cops, including an officer of SP rank, were booked for subjecting a lawyer in their custody to torture that included forcing him into sex with a co-accused.
A case was registered against Muktsar SP (Investigation) Ramandeep Singh Bhullar, Inspector Raman Kumar Kamboj, constables Harbans Singh, Bhupinder Singh and Gurpreet Singh, and home guard Dara Singh under several sections, including 377 (unnatural sex), 342 (wrongful confinement), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code.
Three of the six — Bhullar, Kamboj and Harbans – have been arrested.
The SIT will investigate the allegations of custodial torture levelled by the lawyer and submit its report to the Director Bureau of Investigation, Punjab.
Allegations of custodial torture by the lawyer came to light on Tuesday, following which lawyers affiliated with Bar Association of Punjab and Haryana High Court have been boycotting work, demanding the cops’ arrest and dismissal.
The advocate and another man was arrested on September 14 after a complaint by crime investigation agency in-charge Kamboj, who alleged that the lawyers had assaulted a police team and tore some officers’ uniforms.
in an order on September 22, Muktsar Chief Judicial Magistrate directed police to register a case against the cops on the basis of the advocate’s statement.
