10 months after gym trainer’s family alleged police killed him, Uttarakhand court orders FIR against six cops

Chief Judicial Magistrate Avinash Kumar Srivastava Wednesday ordered an FIR and probe against six officials, acting on the application by Alauddin, Wasim’s relative.

According to the application by Alauddin, Wasim was heading home in the early hours of August 25 when he was stopped by Sub-Inspector Sard Singh, constables Sunil Saini and Praveen Saini, and three other unidentified police personnel.

“They began beating him with sticks and batons with an intention to kill and threw him near the pond close to the road,” the application said. The application claims that upon hearing his cries, locals witnessed the incident and recorded a video of it.

“When they attempted to rescue Wasim, the police threatened to shoot them if they intervened. Ultimately, the police officers killed Wasim,” the application alleged.

Alauddin further said that the next day, he submitted a written complaint to the Gangnahar police station and a General Diary entry was recorded.

However, the police, through their investigation report, claimed that a person riding a scooter fled after seeing the police.

“When police checked the vehicle, they allegedly found packets of beef in the scooter’s storage. A large crowd gathered at the scene, including the applicant Alauddin and his relatives, who surrounded the police, hurled abuses, threatened them, and accused them of beating and shooting Wasim and throwing him into the pond,” it claimed.

Police claimed that the post-mortem concluded that the cause of death was drowning and asphyxiation, and the injuries on his body were caused by impact with a hard object. The missing lower lip was attributed to a bite from a pangasius fish.

Citing a Supreme Court order, the court said that the Magistrate need not determine whether the complaint is false, but must assess whether the basic ingredients of the alleged offence are present on a plain reading of the complaint.

Stating that the postmortem report showed six injuries on the body before death, indicating that Wasim was severely beaten before being thrown into the pond, the court said that the investigation report confirms that the accused police personnel were present at the scene of the incident.

“Hence, it cannot be overlooked that the accused might have beaten Wasim and thrown him into the pond. The applicant has also submitted the inquest report of Wasim as part of the case file, which states that injuries were present on the body of the deceased. From the applicant’s petition, a prima facie case of murder, a cognizable offence, is made out. In this case, the accused are government/public servants,” said the court.

Based on the investigation report, the court said, it is concluded that registration of an FIR and proper investigation against the accused is necessary, as adequate evidence can only be gathered through investigation.

The SHO of Gangnahar police station has been directed to register an FIR against Sub-Inspector Sard Singh, Constables Sunil Saini and Praveen Saini, and three unidentified police personnel, and to ensure that a copy of the FIR is submitted to this court within 24 hours.
The court also asked the Senior Superintendent of Police to ensure that the investigation is carried out by a Circle Officer-rank officer from the Haridwar Headquarters.