Women Lawyers Move Bombay HC Against Cops Who Assaulted Them

Two lawyers were assaulted inside Antop Hill Police Station, Mumbai last month on 18 May. The lawyers took their case to the Bombay High Court seeking a plea to register their FIR against a senior police officer and other personnel involved in their harassment.

Advocate Sadhana Yadav and Harikesh Mishra said they were forced to approach HC as there has not been any FIR filed even after the incident took place a month ago. 

According to the plea on 18 May around 2 pm when advocates Yadav and Mishra went to Antop Hill Police station in Mumbai to register a complaint about their society over a conflict regarding common washrooms, senior police inspector Nasir Kulkarni and other police personnel allegedly assaulted them and unlawfully detained them for hours. Despite the repeated requests to senior police officials, no FIR has been registered against the accused policemen, says the plea.

The accused are identified as a former senior police inspector Nasir Kulkarni along with a duty officer Kharawat Bapurao Jagannath. While Yadav had also purportedly sustained leg injuries. 

The petition is filed by advocate Vinay Rathi who has sought the registration of FIR for charges under Sections 307 for an attempt to murder, and Section 354 for assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty under Indian Penal Code against the accused police personnel.

The petition also requests the immediate suspension of the police officials alleging that despite repeated requests and an RTI query the police failed to provide  CCTV footage of Antop Police Station. 

However, the senior police inspector was transferred to the traffic police department and an inquiry has been initiated against the police officers on duty at the time of the incident. But the lawyers believe the police department has failed to take appropriate actions against the accused policemen.

The case is also purportedly already being heard by Maharashtra Human Rights Commission and National Commission For Women. 

While the Bombay High Court has directed Mumbai police to transfer the complaint to Matunga police station and has asked ACP Matunga police station to initiate the probe into the matter in a fair and impartial manner.

The court also asked the police department to retain the untampered CCTV footage from all seven cameras of Antop Hill Police Station from 18 May 2:30 pm onwards to 19 May 00:30 am.

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