Police functioning comes under judicial scanner

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26

A year after Pawan Kumar committed suicide by consuming poisonous substance at his office in the New Civil Secretariat-9, the police functioning today came under judicial scanner with the Punjab and Haryana High Court issuing notice of motion to the Chandigarh Administration and other respondents on his wife’s plea for independent probe.

Seeking directing the UT Administration and two other respondents for handing over the investigation to some independent agency, his wife Meena Sharma claimed the local police were illegally shielding the accused. Her counsel Avnish Mittal added action, in accordance with law, was not being taken for extraneous considerations under “some political compulsions”.

Mittal, in alternative, sought the constitution of a special investigating team of the Crime Branch for fair and impartial investigation. He told the Bench that the petitioner’s husband committed suicide after specifically naming in his suicide note accused persons.

Property dealers by profession, they were highly connected persons. The period of one year was going to expire. But the police had not taken any action and till date. In fact, not a single arrest had been made. The accused were still at large and openly threatening the widow petitioner to not to pursue the FIR or else she would be eliminated, Mittal submitted on her behalf.

“The widow petitioner visited the police station and the Police Headquarters a number of times to seek justice. However, no action is being taken by the police against the accused persons,” he said.

The victim in his suicide note recovered by the police had claimed that he had taken a loan of Rs 10 lakh on which an interest was imposed.