NRI sues UT Adviser, SSP; seeks Rs 1 crore as damages

Aneesha Sareen

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 5

The court of Judicial Magistrate, Aman Inder Singh, today issued notices to UT Adviser Vijay Kumar Dev, UT SSP SS Gill, ASP (South) Navdeep Singh Brar, SHO of the Sector 34 police station Inspector Baljit Singh and an ASI Sewa Singh acting on a civil suit filed against them claiming damages of Rs 1 crore. The court has also ordered the police to submit the preliminary inquiry report marked after the incident. Notices have been issued to the defendants for March 2. It has also been alleged that the CCTV footage available with the police was allegedly destroyed by them.

A separate plea has also been moved to attach one third of the salary of officers.

The petitioner, Harjeet Singh Sahdra, a Canada-based NRI, alleged illegal detention and misbehaviour by an ASI posted at the Sector 34 police station on October 1, 2015. He stated in his complaint that he went to the Sector 34 police station regarding a dispute with an electrician when Sewa Singh misbehaved with him and illegally detained him behind bars for one hour.

“There was no written complaint, no FIR against me but the ASI misbehaved and humiliated me to such an extent that I was in the lockup for an hour,” said Sahdra.

The NRI submitted a complaint to the UT SSP after the incident following which an inquiry was marked to ASP (South) Navdeep Singh Brar. Harjeet had to fly to India thrice from Australia, where he has his business to join the inquiry proceedings, it has been stated in the petition filed by advocate Malkit Singh Jandiala.

It was also alleged that the police destroyed the CCTV footage and since the footage was made part of the inquiry, he was denied the same after he filed an RTI for obtaining the video footage. The NRI obtained information through the RTI Act that no intimation of arrest and his release on that day was recorded. “The ASI committed the cruel act of torture, caused great mental agony and physical harassment without any lawful jurisdiction. It is incumbent upon the defendants who are under the obligations of vicarious liability to pay damages and compensation to the tune of Rs 1 crore due to the loss of his reputation, status and loss of business in India and abroad,” it has been stated in the petition.

Past case against UT police

ITBP head constables had filed defamation suit

In October 2013, two ITBP head constables, who were wrongly booked in a fake currency case in May this year, had filed Rs 15 lakh defamation suit against the UT police seeking damages for the physical and mental trauma caused to them. The police had wrongly arrested them for possessing fake currency which later turned out to be genuine.