Bail denied,cops accused in custody death still on duty

SPS Yadav,head of the Maharashtra CID,which is investigating the case,told The Indian Express on Tuesday that the department has sought the permission of the government to arrest the accused policemen. The policemen would be suspended “soon”,Yadav said.

Earlier,Yadav had said,“Our investigations have confirmed that the policemen lodged a false complaint of suicide against Suman. She had consumed poison due to the harassment done by policemen. So we lodged a complaint against them.”

Asked why the policemen had not been arrested a month after their plea for anticipatory bail was rejected,Yadav said,“I will have to refresh my memory in this case. I can’t provide any information off-hand.”

Sources said the CID asked for permission to arrest the policemen after advocate S V Kale,a former law officer of the CID,wrote to the department a few days ago saying he would launch a hunger-strike if the accused policemen were not arrested.

Advocate Pravin Satale,representing Suman’s family,said some of the accused policemen appealed to the apex court after the High Court rejected their plea for anticipatory bail. “Here too their plea was rejected and an order to this effect was passed on February 15,” Satale said.

“They can apply for regular bail at the sessions court in Ahmednagar. But for that either the police should arrest them or they should surrender before the court. So far nothing has happened,” Satale added.

Suman died in custody in May 2007. More than two years later,on August 14,2009,the CID recorded a complaint against eight people,including seven policemen — Inspector T K Wahile,Inspector D B Sonawane,Sub-Inspector A R Devkar,Assistant Sub-Inspector S B Sudrik,and Constables Deepak Haral,Sunil Chavan and B S Ahiwale — and a private medical practitioner,S S Deepak,of Ahmednagar. They were charged with abetment to suicide,causing grievous hurt to extract confession,wrongful confinement and giving false information to screen an offender.

Suman’s brother Girish Chavan said,“The inquiry report dated January 8,2008 of Sub-Divisional Magistrate Vikas Pansare clearly mentioned that Suman suffered multiple wounds at the hands of the police. Still,the CID took so long to lodge a complaint.”

According to the CID complaint,Inspector Wahile picked Suman up from her home in Burudgaon village on May 12,2007,and confined her illegally at the local Crime Branch office and a rest house at Jamkhed in Ahmednagar. She was tortured brutally to extract a confession about some stolen gold. Unable to bear the torture,Suman allegedly consumed poison on May 14. The police then took her to Dr Deepak’s hospital where she died on May 16. Dr Deepak made no mention of the injury marks on Suman’s body in the treatment records.