A court here has denied bail to five Delhi police personnel accused of abducting two people, extorting money from them and insulting their religious beliefs, saying they betrayed the State, which employed them to protect the life, liberty and property of its citizens and not to harm them.
Special Judge Samar Vishal dismissed the bail applications filed by accused Sandeep, Sompal, Amit Kumar, Chander Bhan and Amit, all working with the Delhi Police, noting the allegations against them were serious and they had already tried to influence the complainants Mohd Nawab and Soaib.
The accused had sought the relief on the ground that they tried to save the complainants, who were transporting beef in their car, which collided with a scooter. Soon a mob gathered there and tried to communalise the issue, they claimed.
The accused, in order to save the complainants took them away from the mob to a safer place after great effort, their application claimed.
In an order passed on May 29, the court noted that the prosecution had invoked various sections of penal law against the accused, including 395 (dacoity), which is punishable with life imprisonment or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years.
“This shows the gravity of the crime in which these accused involved themselves. Not only this, these accused are the members of the police force, who have the capability to influence the complainant and this tenacity has been shown by the fact that the complainant was pressurised to write a letter that these accused are innocent,” the judge noted.
He added the fact that the letter was “not voluntary” was clearly reflected in the statement of the complainant under section 164 of Cr.PC, recorded before a magistrate.
“The allegations against all these accused are quite serious. They have betrayed the State, which has employed them to protect life, liberty and property of its citizens and not to harm them. These accused have adorned the uniform to prevent the crime and not to commit it,” the judge said.
The argument that the victims were saved from a communal crowd has no legs to stand on for the simple reason that had the accused saved the victims from any unruly mob, the victims would have felt obliged and not complained against the accused as they did in this case, the judge noted.
“The accused insidiously took the victims to a secluded place and committed several crimes against them. The allegations against all accused are serious and the previous attempt to influence the victims is a stumbling block in considering these bail applications favourably at this stage.
“The investigation is going on and I do not find any good reasons to enlarge these accused on bail, considering the position of the accused and the vulnerability of the victims,” the judge said.
The prosecution opposed the bail applications on the ground that the accused being policemen had the duty to act in accordance with law and to use the powers given to them by the State in a lawful manner.
“On the contrary they used their uniform for facilitating the crime which they committed in this case,” the prosecution said.
It claimed the accused were influential and could interfere with the investigation of the case, which they already did once by pressuring a complainant to write a letter proclaiming their innocence.
The court had earlier dismissed the anticipatory bail applications of some of the accused persons.
According to the prosecution, on March 7, 2023 Mohd Nawab and his relative Soaib were allegedly carrying beef in their car which they brought from Ghazipur slaughter house. Their vehicle collided with a scooter in Anand Vihar area.
While the scooter rider was asking the complainant to give him Rs 4,000 for the damage, a PCR van came there and Sandeep, a police constable, forcibly took Rs 2,500 from the pocket of Soaib and gave it to the rider.
The accused demanded Rs 15,000 more from the complainants, threatening that they will be taken to the police station if they did not part with the money.
Sandeep then called some other co-accused and took both to an unknown place, beat them up and also allegedly tried to slash their hands with a knife. The accused also allegedly urinated on their faces, and threatened and abused the complainants.
They also allegedly snatched Rs 25,500 from one of the complainants.
Sandeep called Soaib’s father when the condition of the duo deteriorated because of torture.
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Accused Chander Bhan, an ASI, reached the spot and asked the four policemen to leave the spot, according to the prosecution.
Bhan then took Rs 2,500 from Soaib’s father to let them off.
Later, when the duo filed a complaint with police, the accused put pressure on their relatives to persuade them to withdraw it, the prosecution said.
An FIR under sections 395 (dacoity), 384 (extortion), 341 (wrongful confinement), 365 (abduction), 295-A (insulting religious belief), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of IPC and penal provisions related to corruption was lodged against the accused.
