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Man Self Immolates After His Land 'Unauthorizedly' Occupied By Cops, Dies: Allahabad HC Mulls Constitution Of SIT
Sparsh Upadhyay
6 Jun 2024 5:16 PM IST
Dealing with a writ petition concerning the tragic death of a man who set himself on fire after his land was 'unauthorizedly' occupied by police persons in connivance with the revenue officials, the Allahabad High Court has asked the UP Government for names of senior police officers for constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT).Expressing its dissatisfaction with how the local police...
Dealing with a writ petition concerning the tragic death of a man who set himself on fire after his land was 'unauthorizedly' occupied by police persons in connivance with the revenue officials, the Allahabad High Court has asked the UP Government for names of senior police officers for constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
Expressing its dissatisfaction with how the local police are investigating the case, a bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Narendra Kumar Johari directed the state government to suggest the names of senior cops with adequate expertise in such matters for investigation by June 12, including the name of one officer not below the rank of Inspector General of Police who will be heading the said SIT.
The division bench passed this order while dealing with a Writ petition filed by one Kushma seeking the transfer of the investigation from the local Police Station to another Police Station or independent investigating agency like CBI, etc., for a fair and proper investigation.
The writ petition alleges that the victim's (Ram Bujharat) land was illegally occupied by police officers, who colluded with revenue officials to construct police station residences in Gaindas Bujurg, Balrampur.
Despite his efforts to lodge a complaint, no action was taken, leading him to self-immolate on October 24, 2023, in front of the police station. He died on October 30, 2023, after being hospitalised.
The plea claims that although the police were expected to file an FIR for unnatural death, no action was taken. Therefore, an application under Section 156(3) CrPC was filed in November 2023 before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Balrampur, for lodging of FIR. The said application also remained pending for a long time.
Thereafter, a criminal writ petition was filed in the Allahabad High Court, wherein directions were given to the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Balrampur to decide on the application within two months.
Following the CJM Court's order, an FIR was lodged on March 17, 2024, u/s 447, 120B, 306 IPC & 3(2)(V)SC/ST Act. However, since the investigation was not conducted properly by the CO Utraula, the present writ petition was filed.
The Counsel for the petitioners submitted that though the victim remained alive for nearly six days, however, there is no reference to the recording of any dying declaration of the victim. Therefore, in the given circumstances, the prayer is that a fair and proper investigation is not possible in the manner in which it is being conducted at present.
On the other hand, the Government Advocate submitted that the police are doing their best to conduct a fair and proper investigation and have no personal interest in the matter. It was further submitted that the State is open to investigating the matter under the supervision of appropriate administrative authority, including senior police officers.
However, expressing its dissatisfaction with the manner of the investigation, the Court sought the names of senior cops from the state government to form a SIt in the matter. The matter will be heard next on June 12.
Case title - Kushma vs. State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home U.P. Lko. And Others
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