Mumbai Police To Bombay High Court: ACP To Investigate ‘Brutal’ Assault On Two Advocates Inside Police Station

The Mumbai Police after the nudge from the Bombay High Court transferred the complaint moved by two advocated wherein alleged assault inside the police station from Antop Hill to Matunga Police Division.
The Division bench comprising of Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Gauri Godse in the case observed and has accepted the DCP Statement that the Assistant Commissioner of Police from the Matunga division would investigate the complaint and the report is to be submitted
by June 03, 2023.
The court in the case observed that the said court expect the ACP, Matunga division to whom the complaint dated 20.05.2023 has been transferred to impartially investigate the same. Thus, the DCP Zone-IV to supervise the present case.
However, it has been stated by the DCP, Zone-IV, Prashant Kadam before the court that Antop Hill Police Station has 7 CCTV cameras in the police station and that the footage from all the 7 CCTV cameras from 2:30 p.m of May 18, 2023 to 12:30 a.m of May 19 would be retrieved and the same is to be saved on a pen drive.
In the present case, the bench was hearing the plea moved by two advocates Sadhana Yadav and Harikesh Mishra against the Senior Police Inspector of Antop Hill Nasir Kulkarni and one more police official for allegedly severely beating them with a heavy belt attached with a wooden handle on May 18, 2023 when they went for filing the complaint.
Therefore, the advocates in the case approached the High Court after the police reused to take cognisance of their complaint dated May 20, 2023 with regards to the atrocities allegedly meted out to them.
Further, they seek an FIR as stated under sections 307, 355, 324, 323, 32 5, 326, 211, 336, 337, 338, 339, 340, 341, 342, 346, 352, 354, 357, 506(II), 509, 166, 166a, 201 read with sections 120 B, 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; and Section 25 of Maharashtra Police Act, 1951 and Section 482 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 against the policemen.
The petitioner in the pela also prayed for the officers for immediate suspension wherein considering the brutal assault and illegal detention.
In the said case, the advocate also seeks CCTV footage from the time of the alleged incident.
Firstly, the bench in the case observed and has asked the prosecutor if the matter could be transferred to another police station and the court orally directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police to remain present.
The counsel, Advocate Uday Warunjikar appearing for the petitioner submitted that a preliminary enquiry was already conducted by the police but they were not willing to handover the relevant papers or register an FIR.
Further, it has also been submitted by him before the court that the petitioners had approached senior police officers, which includes the DCP present in court but in vain.
It has also been insisted by the DCP in the case that it was only a departmental enquiry, wherein he agreed to transfer the case to Matunga Police Division and also depute the ACP as the investigating officer of the case. Therefore, he also submitted that the CCTV footage would be secured.
Accordingly, the court listed the matter for further consideration
on July 03, 2023.