5 Delhi cops to be booked for fake drugs case, bribe

NEW DELHI - A city court has ordered Delhi Police to register a case against five policemen for allegedly assaulting and implicating a man in a drugs case and forcibly taking a Rs.30,000 bribe from him.

“The personal liberty of a citizen cannot be curtailed except by procedure established by law even for one day,” said Metropolitan Magistrate Vishal Gogne, on the complaint of Sushil Kumar.

“The possibility of bribe having exchanged hands renders the allegations all the more grievous. A police investigation is necessitated as an ordinary citizen cannot be expected to collect the evidence directed against powerful officials of the state who occupy the status of police officers,” the court said.

The court, in an order Oct 7, also directed the station house officer (SHO) of Dabri police station to register an FIR on the complaint and, if required, also investigate the corruption charges.

According to Sushil Kumar’s application to the court, he was picked up by the five policemen - sub-inspector Ashok Kumar, inspector Ranjit Singh, head constables Ravinder Pal and Rajinder, and constable Jafar Khan - Feb 2, 2009. They work for the special staff in Dhaula Kuan police station.

“I was taken to the police station and beaten up mercilessly,” said the application.

Sushil Kumar said that later the policemen told him to arrange Rs.50,000 for them or else they would implicate him in a case of possession of brown sugar.

“They said that if I don’t arrange the money, I can be sentenced to 10 years in imprisonment,” said the complainant.

“After several requests, they settled the amount at Rs.30,000. Fearing implication, I arranged a sum of Rs.20,000. But they demanded Rs.10,000 again and said if you pay, we will only book you under a case of theft,” said Sushil Kumar.

Even after paying the whole amount, the policemen didn’t release him and produced him before a magistrate Feb 19, 2009, where he was released on bail, the application said.

“I was threatened that if I complain against them, I will be implicated in a case of possession of brown sugar. But I decided to raise my voice and wrote letters to the deputy commissioner of police (southwest district) and the police commissioner. But no action was taken against the erring policemen,” said Sushil Kumar.

“I am an innocent person. I have done nothing wrong. There is no criminal case against me except the false case registered against me. I have been victimised at the hands of these five police personnel and my life has been completely ruined,” he said.