Why Bombay HC transferred probe into 2019 Wadala ‘custodial death’ to CBI

What was the case?

On the night of October 27, 2019, as per the police, Vijay, 22, and two friends were taken to Wadala TT police station after a spat with a couple near his residence while he was parking his motorcycle. The woman alleged that Vijay approached her and pulled her hand, leading to an altercation. The police said Vijay was kept briefly in the lock-up, after which he complained of chest pain and collapsed. He was taken to Sion Hospital, where he was declared dead.

What did the family allege?

Vijay’s father, Hriday Narayan Singh, and his friend Nirmal Singh filed a plea in 2020, alleging Vijay had died due to police torture. They sought an FIR against police personnel and asked for the probe to be transferred to the CBI.

The petitioners submitted that the SIT members were the police officers who had allegedly assaulted Vijay. The plea also referred to Ankit Mishra, another friend who had been with Vijay in custody, but was allegedly “untraceable” for a time due to alleged threats from the police. Mishra later appeared before the high court and recorded his statement before a magistrate conducting a custodial death inquiry under Section 176 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

What did the SIT and the magistrate find?

The Mumbai police denied custodial torture and informed the high court that an FIR had been lodged against the couple, who allegedly initially assaulted Vijay.

The SIT concluded the probe and filed a chargesheet stating that no policemen who were suspended pending the probe were responsible, after which they were reinstated.

Separately, the magistrate’s report “falsified” the police’s claim that CCTV cameras at the concerned police station had been removed due to renovation and remained non-functional until the date of the incident. The magistrate also said there was “nothing on record” to suggest manhandling, beating or torture by the police.

Why did HC order an in-depth CBI probe?

A bench of Justices Ravindra V Ghuge and Gautam A Ankhad found “loose strings” emerging from the material on record, requiring further probe. The high court said that while the SIT conducted an extensive probe, several issues needed an in-depth investigation, including:

1. The allegation that the couple with whom Vijay had a tiff had allegedly assaulted him, which may have caused his death.

2. The medical report of the civic-run KEM hospital indicated that Vijay’s heart showed healed myocardial infarction, which would mean that he had already suffered such an episode earlier, which cannot be established, as there is no medical record or history of treatment given to him.

3. The alleged beating by the couple may have caused a panic attack, triggering myocardial infarction.

4. Vijay started complaining of chest pain immediately after reaching the police station, which could be either because of the beating by the couple and/or by the police, en route to the police station.

5. The court also noted that while KEM Hospital did not find anything significant, the state-run J J Hospital opined that Vijay already had a myocardial infarction, which had healed, and the same could be the reason for the panic attack, leading to a myocardial infarction causing his death.

6. A serious doubt was expressed by experts from KEM Hospital as to whether a portion of Vijay’s heart was subjected to medical examination or whether two hearts of two different individuals were sent for examination to the JJ and KEM Hospitals.

7. The alleged beating at the hands of the police could have caused the panic attack.

8. The magistrate had sought for report by an independent expert in forensic science from B Y L Nair Hospital in south Mumbai, who opined that the overall condition of the heart and reports of two hospitals indicated that an independent cardiac pathological review was necessary.

9) The statement made by Nirmal indicated that police constables had beaten Vijay after the couple had beaten him, and Nirmal had not changed his statement anytime thereafter.

10) Ankit Mishra had earlier stated that the couple had beaten Vijay, and thereafter the constables beat him. However, in his last statement recorded before the magistrate, he had narrated a “diagonally opposite version”. Was he under coercion or duress when this statement was recorded?

The high court directed the SIT to hand over the probe records to the CBI within 15 days, after which the central agency will commence its investigation and inform the high court about the progress in the same on November 14.