Cops convicted for custodial torture | ‘Didn’t lose hope… thought there was no option but to fight’: Victim’s mother on 16-yr legal battle

On Tuesday, a special CBI court convicted two policemen for the custodial torture of Altaf.

The verdict came after multiple petitions by Mehrunissa, first seeking to file an FIR, then for transfer of probe to the CBI, and years of pursuing the judicial course, including challenging dropping of serious sections against the accused.

“Meri aankhon ke saamne leke gaye the. (They took me right before my eyes). It is good that the court found them guilty but there should have been a stricter punishment,” Mehrunissa said.

The court found Sub-inspector Sanjay Khedekar and retired head constable Raghunath Kolekar guilty on charges including voluntarily causing hurt; causing hurt to a person to extort a confession of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced to seven years in jail, while acquitting them of the charges of murder.

The court suspended the sentence and granted them bail till they file an appeal.

Mehrunissa said that she will file an appeal seeking enhanced punishment for the two.

Altaf, who had a past criminal record, was picked up from his house around 4 am on September 11, 2009, in the presence of Mehrunissa, and she was taken to a civic hospital a few hours later, where she saw her son’s lifeless body on a stretcher with multiple bruises.

Initially, the police claimed that the death was due to consumption of intoxicants by Altaf and filed only an accidental death report.

Mehrunissa approached the Bombay High Court with a writ petition in 2009 seeking a proper probe and the registration of an FIR.

The High Court then directed that the probe be conducted by the CBI against the errant policemen.

Meanwhile, Khedekar approached the Supreme Court against the order, which in November 2009, directed that an FIR be registered by the CBI and no action be taken against the police officials till the CBI files a report.

The CBI subsequently filed a chargesheet but only charged the policemen for charges including voluntarily causing hurt and wrongful confinement, to be tried before a magistrate court, with a maximum punishment of one year.

Mehrunissa, through her lawyers Yug Mohit Chaudhry, Payoshi Roy and Dashrath Gaikwad, approached the court with a protest petition in 2013, seeking that charges including murder be added.

“I sometimes would feel unsure if justice will be done but I did not lose hope and thought there was no option but to fight for seeking justice,” said Mehrunissa, who continues to work as a domestic worker to support her family.

She tried to attend court hearings throughout these 16 years, sometimes by explaining to her employers why she was seeking leave.

She said that they were accommodating once they heard her reason.

Between 2013-2023, the case saw little progress, with various courts hearing pleas on the sections the accused can be tried on.

Finally, it was in March 2023, that the High Court passed a detailed order directing that the policemen be charged for murder and the trial be expedited.

In August 2023, the special CBI court framed charges against the accused and the trial was concluded in over two years, five months.

“We are going through the judgment and will be deciding on the future course of action after perusal of the order,” said Gaikwad, who had also represented Mehrunissa in the trial court as an intervener.

From the homepage

‘There is confusion’: SC directs EC to give details of 3.66 lakh voters deleted from final Bihar electoral roll

Found dead with gunshot wound, IPS officer Puran Kumar was known for speaking up against caste bias, administrative issues

Removed after Rajasthan hospital blaze, doctor claims warnings about ‘current leakage’ were ignored