HC takes note of report on youth’s detention,torture

Taking cognizance of a news item appearing in an English daily newspaper highlighting the condition of the family of a youth who was detained by Punjab Police officers and has gone missing,Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal has converted it into a public interest litigation.

It was reported in the report that the police at Balachaur had detained Shaminder Singh alias Shera on October 31 on the allegation of his having links with terrorists. No case was registered against him. Shera’s parents Jagannath and Vidya are reported to have met their son regularly at the police station where Shera told them about the torture he was suffering.

“Request of Shera to his parents to file writ petition in the High Court to seek his release could not be acceded to by his parents for want of money. A couple of days after November 16 when Jagannath and Vidya went to meet Shera at Police Station Balachaur,they were told that Shera had escaped from the lock up and that the police was not aware of his whereabouts… If the facts appearing in the news item are correct,the matter deserves to be looked at in PIL jurisdiction of this Court,” reads the order.