ASI BOOKED, SHO SHIFTED OVER 13YEAROLD BOY’S ‘TORTURE’

BATHINDA : After allegations of torturing a 13-year-old boy in police custody at the Kotwali police station surfaced two days ago, police on Sunday booked an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) and a Bathinda trader besides transferring a station house officer (SHO) and another ASI.

ASI Kulwinder Singh, who was booked, has also been suspended, Bathinda senior superintendent of police (SSP) Navin Singla said.

He was booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 323 (voluntary causing hurt) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) while a case under sections 323 and 341 (wrongful restraint) of IPC was lodged against trader Devinder Kumar and some unidentified persons.

Kotwali police station SHO Devinder Singh and ASI Rajbir Singh have been transferred to police lines pending inquiry.

On December 3, the 13-yearold boy of a locality near Fauji Chowk here was allegedly nabbed by Devinder Kumar, a cloth trader, who handed the boy over to the police claiming he was there to commit theft.

He along with others allegedly thrashed the boy before handing him over to the police. The boy said he had gone to pick a kite. He accused five cops, including SHO Devinder of beating him up mercilessly and injecting petrol into his private parts to extract a confession from him.

The boy’s mother alleged he was released after she paid the cops a bribe of ₹5,000.