Kurukshetra Superintendent of Police Chandra Mohan Sharma held a press conference on Monday to lay out the findings of an internal probe into an alleged sexual assault case involving officers of Ladwa police station, ruling out the assault and a widely circulated cancer claim, even as he confirmed that three policemen did assault the complainant in custody and have already been suspended.
How the case began
For nearly fifteen days, the Ladwa police station in Kurukshetra had been at the centre of a serious controversy. The allegation was that a young man held in police custody had been sexually assaulted inside the station and beaten badly. The claims escalated further with the assertion that the victim was suffering from bone cancer and had bled during his time in custody. As soon as the allegations surfaced, a case was registered against three Ladwa police station personnel and they were immediately suspended.
The night in question and the missing ten minutes
SP Chandra Mohan said the entire episode unfolded on the night between June 17 and June 18. The young man had been detained at a checkpoint for drinking alcohol, and a medical examination confirmed that he had indeed consumed liquor. According to the SP, he was kept in the lockup through the night, and the whole sequence was captured on the police station's CCTV cameras. The footage showed he was taken out of the lockup for only 10 minutes. The SP acknowledged that it was during these 10 minutes that the young man was assaulted, after he allegedly hurled abuses and made objectionable remarks at the policemen.
What the probe found on the sexual assault charge
The SP clarified that no sexual assault took place inside the police station. DNA tests on the swab samples and clothing collected during the investigation showed no signs of sexual assault. The accused policemen themselves voluntarily underwent lie detector, or polygraph, tests, and the results backed their denial of the charge. Notably, the young man who levelled the allegations refused to undergo a polygraph test himself.
The cancer claim did not hold up either
Chandra Mohan said the young man did not have bone cancer, a fact that was verified even with PGI. The complainant had initially refused a medical examination, but a duly constituted medical board later examined him. The investigation did not turn up any medical record proving that the complainant was suffering from bone cancer or had ever undergone chemotherapy.
Where the blood came from
On the allegations of bleeding, the SP said forensic examination and CCTV footage found no blood stains in the lockup, the police station rooms, or on the complainant's clothes on the night of the incident. The medical board concluded that the bleeding noticed the next morning was caused by a pre-existing anal fissure, constipation and piles, not by any assault or sexual abuse.
Three policemen face action after SIT probe
The SP said an FIR was registered as soon as the allegations came to light, and a Special Investigation Team led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Ladwa, was formed to ensure a fair inquiry. The SIT relied on CCTV footage, forensic examination, DNA tests and other scientific methods. The probe confirmed that three policemen were involved in beating the complainant, and legal action has now been initiated against them.
SP voices displeasure over unverified media reports
Laying out the findings, Chandra Mohan said the investigation confirmed that some policemen had indeed assaulted the complainant, but no scientific or medical evidence supported the claims of sexual assault in custody or of the complainant suffering from bone cancer. He appealed to the media to verify facts and exercise restraint before publishing or broadcasting reports on sensitive criminal cases, warning that unverified news can seriously damage the reputation and social standing of the people involved and their families.
