DGP told to look into allegation of accused’s torture

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, July 9

District and Sessions Judge Dr Tejwinder Singh on Monday asked the J&K DGP to look into the allegation of defence counsels that Parvesh Kumar Mannu was tortured when he was taken to the Government Jammu Medical College and Hospital last month for ossification (age-determination) tests.

The judge is presiding over the trial in which a minor girl was abducted, raped and murdered in Kathua in January this year.

The judge, on a previous date, had ordered the ossification tests to be done on Parvesh, after his lawyers insisted that he was a juvenile and hence should be tried by the Juvenile Justice Board, Kathua.

Following the order, Parvesh was taken to the hospital, but the defence counsel contended that he was “mentally harassed and tortured” by J&K crime branch officials when he was being shifted to Jammu from the Kathua sub-jail.

The judge had also ordered crime branch officials to file affidavits following the allegations of torture.

Today, four senior officers, including SSP Ramesh Kumar Jalla, submitted their affidavits.The judge contended that since the purported occurrence (alleged torture of Parvesh) took place in J&K, he had no jurisdiction in the matter and subsequently asked the DGP to look into the allegations.