After Supreme Court Order, 6 J&K Cops Arrested For Brutal Torture Of Policeman

Six policemen, including a Deputy Superintendent, have been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the alleged brutal torture of a policeman during custody in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district in 2023, official sources said.

The arrests were made following a Supreme Court order in which the CBI was directed to file an FIR into the torture of a policeman during illegal custody and to arrest the accused policemen.

Among those arrested are Deputy Superintendent of Police Aijaz Ahmad Naikoo and Inspector Reyaz Ahmad, who are accused of the barbaric torture of policeman Khursheed Ahmad Chouhan in February 2023.

Last month, the Supreme Court came down heavily on the Jammu and Kashmir Police and termed the torture of Chouhan as "the most barbaric instance of police atrocity." The top court also indicted the Jammu and Kashmir High Court for committing a "grave error by failing to exercise its writ jurisdiction" in the case.

"The unprecedented gravity of this case involving brutal and inhuman custodial torture, characterised by the complete mutilation of the appellant's genitalia, represents one of the most barbaric instances of police atrocity, which the state is trying to defend and cover up with all pervasive power. The medical evidence conclusively establishes that such injuries are impossible to be self-inflicted. The respondent's theory of suicide attempt crumbles under scrutiny when examined against the timeline and the medical evidence. It is foolhardy to suggest that a rational person would subject himself to complete genital mutilation and cause injuries to inaccessible body parts so as to avoid questioning in a drug case," said an order passed by a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.

The top court said the handling of the case by the Jammu and Kashmir Police reflects institutional malice of the highest order and a disturbing pattern of systematic cover-up and abuse of authority.

"The transformation of a torture victim into an accused through a concocted theory of attempted suicide, based on manifestly implausible medical opinion and glaring procedural violations, reflected institutional malice of the highest order," the court said.

According to case records, policeman Khursheed Ahmad Chouhan was called by the SSP Kupwara on February 17, 2023 and handed over to a team of officers for interrogation in connection with an alleged drug trafficking case. There was no FIR registered against Chouhan, and for three days, he was subjected to torture in illegal custody.

According to the CBI FIR registered after the Supreme Court's directions, medical records from Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinagar, reveal that Khursheed Ahmad Chouhan was subjected to the most brutal torture, including "complete mutilation of genitalia with both testicles removed," among other inhuman forms of abuse during custody.

The wife of the tortured policeman fought relentlessly for justice, and the case eventually reached the Supreme Court after she was unable to get relief from the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. In its order, the top court also indicted the High Court for a "grave error."

"The High Court committed a grave error in law by failing to exercise the writ jurisdiction and refusing to apply the mandatory principles laid down by the Constitution Bench in Lalita Kumari," the Supreme Court said in its order.

"Instead of ordering immediate registration of FIR, the High Court directed the very same Senior Superintendent of Police, Kupwara, who had issued the signal on February 17, 2023, and under whose jurisdiction the alleged torture occurred, to conduct an inquiry into his own subordinates' actions. This direction constitutes a flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of natural justice," the court stated.