Barabanki incident turns spotlight on illegal detention

The Barabanki incident wherein a woman was allegedly set afire by cops at a police station has brought into focus the illegal detention of people in the police stations, a practice that is said to be widely prevalent in UP and even in other states.

In this case, the police who were probing a murder picked up a person who had no role in the crime. After being picked up from Gaha village, the man was brought to the Kothi police station on the pretext of interrogation and put in the lock-up.

When his wife went to the police station and pleaded with the policemen to release her husband, she was pushed out of the premises that day. She went back to the police station on Monday morning again to get her husband released but she was set afire after the policemen allegedly attempted to rape her.

The illegal detention of the man was brought to the notice of the Barabanki superintendent of police as well as other police officers by local journalists. The woman’s son is a journalist with a local Hindi daily.

Talking to HT, a local journalist said, “We pleaded with the police officers to release the man as he had no role in the murder nor was he named in the FIR. But the police officers paid no heed to our plea.”

A senior police officer said, “The state home department had given clear instructions to the district police officers not to detain people illegally. The cases of suicide in police station by illegal detainees have also come to light. The state human rights commission has issued notices to the officers concerned on the charge of illegal detention as well,” he said.

Social activist Manoj Singh said, “Strict action should be taken against the police personnel who indulge in illegal detention.”

“Only those people against whom cases have been registered can be detained in the police station for interrogation. The police should also inform the family members about the detention. A person wanted in a case of crime can be held at a police station for 24 hours after which the police have to produce him in court,” he added.

THE BARABANKI INCIDENT HAS SHOWN THE TRUTH ABOUT THE 1090 SERVICE. WHEN THE POLICE INSPECTOR AND SUB-INSPECTOR TRY TO MISBEHAVE WITH A WOMAN INSIDE A POLICE STATION AND UPON FAILING TO DO SO, BURN HER ALIVE, THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANCE OF THE 1090 SERVICE LAXMIKANT BAJPAI, BJP state president THERE CAN BE NOTHING MORE DREADFUL AND SHAMEFUL THAN A WOMAN BEING MISBEHAVED WITH IN A POLICE STATION AND LATER BEING BURNT ALIVE CONG SPOKESPERSON SHOBHA OZA