House Help Held For Theft Alleges Police Brutality, Assistant Police Inspector and Two Female Constables Suspended

An unsettling incident came to light recently which involved a woman being brutally assaulted at the Magarpatta police station in Hadapsar, Pune while she was being held on suspicion of theft. The woman claims that when she requested water to relieve her thirst the police officers made fun of her and passed derogatory remarks. According to the victim, two female police officers and four police officers including a sub-inspector were involved in the assault.

The victim, her family, and social workers had requested the Police Commissioner and Deputy Police Commissioners to take serious action against the officials involved. Acting on the complaint filed by the women Deputy Commissioner of Police R Raja issued the suspension order of Assistant police inspector Pramod Deokar of the Hadapsar police station including Constable Usha Sonkamble and Vaishali Udmale of the Damani Squad.

What was the incident?

According to the police, on February 1st, a theft complaint was filed at the Hadapsar Police Station under Section 380 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Based on the complaint and the statement given by the complainant regarding their maid, the police on February 9 summoned the maid to the Magarpatta City Police Chowki for an investigation and served her with a CrPC Section 160 notice. The maid alleged that she was not given water by the cops and that they had severely abused her. A video of police brutality went viral on social media and attracted public outrage on the issue. Based on the complaint filed by the maid a department-level enquiry has been initiated and post enquiry suspension orders were issued.