The Bombay High Court on Friday observed “nothing wrong” in the alleged death in police lock-up of an 18-year-old man arrested in connection with the shooting outside Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s residence. After reading the Magistrate’s inquiry report, the bench said that no person died in the lockdown due to police action.
The court asked the lawyer representing the deceased’s mother, Rita Devi, who had demanded a CBI probe, saying the police could not find any “valid explanation” for the killing of 18-year-old Anuj Thapan, who was not even the main accused. Death – To go through the research report and give the same answer next month.
The court heard CCTV footage showed that on May 1 this year, he went to the bathroom alone in the lock-up where he was found to have committed suicide. Thapan was kept in the lock-up of the crime branch of the Mumbai police headquarters.
A bench of Justices Revathi Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj K Chavan was hearing a petition by Rita Devi, who claimed that despite her death in custody, the police did not register an FIR. She requested that an FIR be registered immediately and the CBI investigate the incident.
According to the court’s order dated October 25, the judicial inquiry magistrate submitted a report to the court under Section 176 (1-a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
After hearing the report, the bench verbally questioned advocate Nishant Rana on behalf of the petitioner, ‘In your opinion, why did the police try to kill a person who was not the main accused? 18 year old boy. He went to the bathroom alone… He’s not even a shooter. What will the police achieve by killing him? We understand the mother’s feelings, but we also have to look at the situation.”
After the lawyer said that the deceased was a healthy person, the judges said, ‘Physical strength and mental strength have no relation. Who knows what circumstances led him to hang himself…no one can vouch for anyone. It’s part of the movement in which it happens… sometimes you don’t know what’s going on. There can be many reasons. He was poor. He might have thought about the lawyer’s expenses… He is from outside Maharashtra.
Judge Chavan told Rana, ‘The CCTV footage does not indicate that anyone went to the toilet with him. That possibility is denied. Normally he would have struggled or resisted.”
Justice Mohite-Dere added, “Don’t get emotional. A mother always has doubts, a mother should be told. We can understand the anxiety or the feeling of a mother who has lost a son.
The judge added, “We cannot find any reason to kill an 18-year-old who was not even the prime accused. Instead he would have been the best person to reveal what happened. He could have been made an approver. We find nothing wrong. Look at the report and pass any order.” Satisfy our conscience before it happens.