Four cops booked, judicial probe report awaited

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 13

Even after over one and a half months since the custodial death of a Maqboolpura youth, Kinka, in the Vallah police chowki, the judicial probe initiated in the case is yet to be completed. While the police are awaiting the report, the four policemen who were booked and suspended in the case have not been arrested yet.

Harjit Singh Dhaliwal, Assistant Commissioner of Police (East), said the police was yet to receive the judicial report in the case and further action would be taken only after going through the findings of the judicial probe.

Kinka, a resident of Maqboolpura, had allegedly committed suicide in the police lock-up inside the Vallah police chowki on December 21. The police had booked four policemen, including the chowki in charge, Manjit Singh. The police also suspended the SHO, Mohkampura police station, Narinder Kaur Mallhi, a day after for negligence.

Harsimranjit Kaur, Judicial Magistrate (First Class), was entrusted with the judicial probe in the case. A team of doctors had conducted a post-mortem examination of the deceased.

Dalit youth Kinka was arrested and handed over to the police by a couple of persons who had alleged that he had stolen a mobile phone. However, no case was registered against him and there was no official entry in the record book of the police about detaining him. He reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself in the lock-up with the help of a piece of cloth, which he had torn from the blanket offered to him by the police. After prime facie investigations, the police charged the chowki in chrage and three other policemen of murder under the SC/ST Act.

The family members and relatives of the deceased while agitating had alleged that the policemen had visited the house and demanded Rs 2,000 as bribe to dispose of the case amicably. However, they expressed their inability to give the amount. Seeta, the mother of the deceased, said she had given him (Kinka) lunch at the police chowki.

Investigations revealed that the chowki in charge as well as the SHO failed to inform the family about Kinka’s death. The family came to know about this after several mediapersons approached them.