RASANA Notice issued to SSP Jammu

TNN Bureau. Updated: 11/20/2019 9:45:48 AM Front Page

JAMMU: Taking strong note of police’s failure to lodge an FIR against six members of the Special Investigation Team (SIT)-- which probed the rape and murder case of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Rasana case-- for allegedly torturing and coercing witnesses to give false statements, a Jammu court on Tuesday issued notice to senior superintendent of police (SSP) Jammu Tejinder Singh in a contempt petition filed against him.
The City Judge Jammu Prem Sagar has given the SSP time till November 23 for filling objections.
On October 22, Sagar had directed the SSP to register an FIR against the SIT members for allegedly torturing and coercing witnesses to give false statements on an application by Sachin Sharma, Neeraj Sharma and Sahil Sharma, who were witnesses in the case, saying cognizable offences are made out against the six.
The court directed registration of FIR under Section 194 of RPC and other relevant provisions of law against the then SSP R K Jalla (now retired), ASP Peerzada Naveed, Deputy Superintendents of Police Shetmbari Sharma and Nissar Hussain, Sub-Inspector Urfan Wani and Kewal Kishore of crime branch of police and had asked the SSP Jammu to report compliance November 7.
On Tuesday, a contempt petition was filed by Advocates Ankur Sharma and Tarun Sharma seeking intiation of contempt proceeding against SSP Jammu for not implementing order.
The trio--Sachin Sharma, Neeraj Sharma and Sahil Sharma, are friends and classmates of Vishal Jangotra, the lone accused who was acquitted by the Pathankot court.
These three from Jammu along with Jangotra, are pursuing B.Sc in Agriculture at a college in Muzzafarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. In their plea, the trio accused the SIT of torturing Jangotra, as well as themselves, to allegedly extract false testimony out of them against him.
The students had alleged that they were "coerced to make statements contrary to the facts that Jangotra was with them at Muzzafarnagar from January 7 to February 10. During that period, he, along with the petitioners, attended examinations and practical papers".
"The petitioners were subjected to physical and mental torture from March 19 to March 31 by the respondents (state police officers)," they had alleged.
They had approached the court after their written request to the SHO of Pacca Danga police station on 24 September did not yield any result. Further, their letter to SSP Jammu through registered post dated 5 October for the registration of the FIR couldn’t move the authorities.
Jangotra had been acquitted after he told the court that he couldn’t have been involved in the crime since he was hundreds of kilometres away in Muzaffarnagar when the incident took place.
"From the gist of the complaint cognizable offences are made out against the non-applicants herein. Therefore, application of the applicant under section 153 (3) CrPC is allowed with the direction to SSP Jammu to register FIR against the non-applicants under relevant provisions of law and report compliance by next date of hearing on November 7," the court on October 22 had said.


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