Shimla :The Himachal high court Wednesday transferred the probe of a case involving the death of a man in Solan district due to alleged police torture to the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI).
The case was earlier being conducted by the CID.The order was passed by the division bench of the high court after the widow of Suchcha Singh moved a petition.
The petition pleaded the case should be investigated by an independent agancy as she had no faith in the state agency to conduct an impartial probe.
It may be recalled that Singh,30, was electocuted at Jharmajri on May 31 this year allegedly while trying to escape chasing policemen.
The petitioner alleged that that SHO Barotiwala and four other policemen beat up Suchcha Singh severely for not wearing a helmet and he died due to electric shock caused by falling on a transformer as he tried to escape the beating by the men in khakhi.
The arms of the victim had to be amputated and he ultimately died a few days later.
The victim’s wife alleged that no action was taken against the erring officials for the next twelve days even as the father of Singh had brought the matter to the police on the same day,but no police official came to record the victims statement in hospital.
The FIR was ultimately lodged a day after the death.The petitioner alleged that SHO Dev Raj was one of the persons who mercilessly beat up Singh and no action was taken against him.
She alleged that erring police officials were being sheltered and are pressurising the relatives of the victim to hush up the matter.
In a 20 year career published widely. He has worked for the BBC, AFP, The Statesman, IANS and the Business Standard . Known for his hard hitting writing and occasional off-beat stories. He lives in Shimla.
