The Allahabad High Court has strongly condemned the functioning of the police department after it was revealed that family members and relatives of an accused were kept in illegal detention for multiple days at the Gauri Bazar police station in Deoria. Expressing deep concern over the role of the Superintendent of Police and the Station House Officer, the bench ordered a total compensation of 65,000 rupees to be paid to four petitioners. The court specifically mandated that this monetary compensation will be recovered directly from the salary of the responsible Station House Officer.
This legal proceeding originated from a habeas corpus petition filed by Mahendra Gaur. A division bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Divesh Chandra Samant heard the matter, during which the court demanded answers from law enforcement regarding the unlawful confinement of individuals inside the police station and the failure to produce relevant CCTV footage. The petition alleged that four individuals, including three women, were confined against their will inside the Gauri Bazar police station between April 13 and April 24, with some individuals forced to sit inside the station premises for nearly 10 days.
Court Rejects Police Excuses Regarding Missing CCTV Footage
During the court hearings, the bench sought details and recordings from the police station security cameras for the disputed timeframe. In response, police representatives claimed that the CCTV system was out of order during that specific period. The bench flatly refused to accept this explanation. Highlighting Supreme Court guidelines, the division bench reiterated that surveillance cameras in all police stations must remain operational 24 hours a day, and secure backup of the footage must be maintained without fail. The court viewed the absence of functioning cameras and backup systems as a serious administrative lapse on the part of the Superintendent of Police, while issuing sharp remarks regarding the systemic operational methods of the police officers.
Detentions Stemmed From Murder Probe at Beitalpur Dhaba
The entire sequence of events traces back to police actions following the murder of Pappu Yadav on the night of April 12 at a dhaba located in Beitalpur within the jurisdiction of the Gauri Bazar police station. Following that homicide, police registered a case against several individuals and subsequently arrested the primary suspects, sending them to jail. However, according to family members, law enforcement officials also summoned family members and relatives of the accused under the pretext of questioning and detained multiple people inside the station for extended periods. It was this specific overreach of police power that prompted the filing of the habeas corpus petition in the High Court. Under the court's directive, four petitioners namely Archana, Neeru, Nandani, and Mahendra will receive a cumulative compensation of 65,000 rupees, funded entirely through deductions from the station house officer's monthly salary.
