Plea In Madhya Pradesh HC For Constitution Of Committee To Prevent Communalism Within Police Force [Read Petition]

The petition, filed by one Deepak Bundela, a practicing Advocate of the High Court, also seeks constitution of a "Police Complaints Authority" in the state.

Bundela has moved the High Court through Advocate Ehtesham Hashmi, alleging that he was brutally assaulted by a mob of policemen, including one Kapil Saurashtra, who apparently mistook Bundela to be a Muslim.

He has submitted that while he was going to the Hospital to fetch his medicines for acute diabetes and blood pressure, Saurashtra stopped him at the strength of a Section 144 order that was in force and thereafter abused him as well as the Indian Constitution. The incident was followed by a brutal assault on the Petitioner's person.

On a later date, it is alleged, two policemen namely BS Patel Souni and Raghuvanshi visited the Petitioner's house on the premise of recording his statement about the incident but, they instead tried to manipulate the Petitioner by urging him to take back his complaint.

During their visit, the plea states, the two policemen disclosed that Saurashtra, being a staunch Hindu, mistook the Petitioner to be a Muslim and the entire incident was therefore a misunderstanding.

As per the plea the two policemen said,

"We do not have any enmity against you. Whenever there is a Hindu-Muslim riot, police always supports the Hindus; even Muslims know this. But whatever happened with you was because of ignorance. For that, I have no words"."

The Petitioner has thus moved the High Court, seeking the aforementioned remedies, in addition to an adequate enquiry against the delinquent police personnel.

He has contended that the Respondents have acted in violation of Article 15(1) of the Constitution and have constituted offences under Sections 323,324,341,293 and 506 of IPC.

"There has been growing incidents of police brutality in the state and country and with the facts it is clear that there is communal elements present in the police force, police force as an instrumentality of state has to uphold the constitutional values and discrimination on the basis of religion by the police is against the mandate of the constitution of India, under no circumstance state instrumentality can not violate article 15 that is guaranteed by the Constitution of India," the plea states.

It is alleged that the Petitioner was wrongfully restrained by the police as even though Section 144 was in force, there was no restriction and curfew on individual movement.

It is stated that the Petitioner has apprised the Superintendent of Police of the said incident however a FIR in this regard has not been registered. Accordingly, a prayer has been made to direct the concerned SP to register the FIR in the matter and also to provide him adequate police protection.

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