Nagpur: Facing severe flak over the incident in which RTI activist Advocate Ankita Shah and her husband Nilesh Makheja were assaulted in Lakadganj Police Station, the Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar has informed the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) that an inquiry has been ordered into the matter.
The top police boss, through Additional CP Navinchandra Reddy, submitted his reply before the State Human Rights Commission that held its first hearing on Shah’s complaint on Tuesday at Mumbai. The CP stated that an inquiry was going on through DCP-Zone-III on new facts brought to fore by Shah.
On March 25, Shah and her husband Makheja had gone to the Lakadganj Police Station to lodge a complaint against a security guard and a neighbour who were hurling stones at stray dogs. Instead of taking action, the cops allegedly heckled them on grounds of not wearing masks, making videos in the station and detained them despite norms prohibiting detention of women after 6 pm, Shah had alleged.
Shah further said that as per report submitted by Nagpur CP before SHRC, former CP Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay did not take any action that shows he was not at all serious about atrocities on a woman advocate and an activist. It was his duty to take a strict cognisance of the matter and direct registration of FIR immediately but he failed to do so.
Considering the inquiry report of ACP on March 31, 2020, the Commissioner of Police issued a warning letter on October 12 to senior PI of Lakadganj Police Station Narendra Hiwre. Shah expressed anguish over leniency on PSI Kawre and two constables as Kumar just issued show cause notices to them asking why a fine of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 each should not be levied on them.
Next date of hearing before SHRC is November 4 and Shah is planning to file a reply on the report submitted by Nagpur CP.
