Parading of murder accused on vehicle bonnet 'barbaric' act, says MSHRC

The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident in which three murder accused were tied to the bonnet of a police vehicle and paraded through parts of Pune, describing it as a "barbaric" act that appeared to violate constitutional safeguards.

In an order passed on 3 August, a full bench headed by commission chairperson Justice A.M, Badar issued notices to the Maharashtra chief secretary, director-general of police, Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar, deputy commissioner of police (Zone III) Milind Mohite and Bharti Vidyapeeth police station senior inspector Mansingh Patil.

The commission said videos circulating on social media prima facie showed three accused in a murder case being tied to the bonnet of a police vehicle and paraded on public roads after their arrest.

The incident stems from the murder of 17-year-old Ganesh Ravindra Malwe in Pune's Katraj area on 21 July. According to police, Malwe was attacked by a group of seven minors with sharp weapons while returning after collecting his repaired mobile phone. Investigators said the attack, in which the teenager sustained around 70 injuries, was allegedly triggered by a months-old dispute involving the victim and the sister of one of the accused. 

Calling the episode reminiscent of the Farooq Ahmad Dar case in Jammu and Kashmir, the panel noted that the National Human Rights Commission had directed the payment of Rs 10 lakh compensation to the victim in that matter.

'Pune Police has virtually imitated the said incident, prima facie to tarnish and malign the image of the state government, and to project the style of working of Pune Police as a 'Jungle Raj' functionary and blatant disregard for constitutional safeguards, including the fundamental right to life and dignity under Article 21,' the order said.

The commission observed that if the widely circulated videos were found to be authentic, they would bring 'shame to the otherwise well-governed State of Maharashtra'.

Referring to media reports and the footage, it said the accused were allegedly forced to walk on their knees, assaulted in public and later tied to the police vehicle, while onlookers were allowed to attack them in the presence of police personnel.

The panel also expressed concern over videos purportedly showing a police officer threatening children who had gathered at the scene, saying such conduct could inflict psychological trauma and run contrary to the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.

It said the alleged acts amounted to the public humiliation of suspects before any determination of guilt and appeared to violate constitutional protections, statutory safeguards governing arrests and Supreme Court guidelines on the treatment of arrested persons.

The commission further observed that a similar human rights complaint involving the Pune Police had come to its notice earlier this year, and said the recurrence of such incidents raised prima facie questions about the role of senior supervisory officers.

It said the conduct of the Pune police commissioner and the deputy commissioner of police warranted an inquiry to ascertain whether there was negligence in preventing human rights violations or abetment through failure to act.

The MSHRC also ordered a preliminary fact-finding inquiry by its special inspector-general of police Datta Karale, assisted by registrar Vijay Kedar and superintendent of police Viswas Pandhare.

The fact-finding committee visited the Bharti Vidyapeeth police station on Wednesday, 5 August to review the incident and record statements. It has been directed to submit its report within a week.

With PTI inputs