HC expresses dissatisfaction over CBI affidavit

PRAYAGRAJ : Slamming the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for its failure to properly investigate the alleged custodial death of a 24-year-old man from Jaunpur, the Allahabad high court observed that the affidavit filed by the investigation agency was unsatisfactory as it indicated that no concrete effort had been made by it to arrest the accused persons (policemen).

Hearing a writ petition filed by one Ajay Kumar Yadav of Jaunpur, a division bench comprising justice Surya Prakash Kesarwani and justice Piyush Agrawal observed, “The averment made by the CBI that efforts are being made, appears to be merely an eyewash in view of the stand taken on the last date of hearing as recorded in the order October 27, 2021 that the CBI arrests accused only after completion of investigation.”

In its affidavit, the CBI gave details of police officials, suspects and accused persons and also stated that efforts were being made by conducting raids/ searches at their known addresses, examining their CDRs/ IPDRs, and deploying sources to get their present locations for the execution of nonbailable warrants (NBWs).

It was also stated that arrest warrants had been issued by local police from the court of chief judicial magistrate, Jaunpur, on September 6, 2021. However, the court noted that the accused persons hadn’t been arrested even after more than two months.

However, in its order dated November 10, the court granted one more opportunity to the CBI to investigate the case properly and execute the arrest warrants without any further delay and to take all consequential action as provided in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) including the provisions of sections 82 and 83 CrPC, by which the accused were declared as absconders and their properties were attached.

Lastly, the court called for an affidavit from the CBI on the next date i.e. November, 29, 2021. The CBI was asked to clarify its stand on its submission made earlier that CBI arrests the accused only after completion of the investigation.

Earlier, at one stage, this court had transferred the probe into alleged death of a 24-year-old man in police custody in Jaunpur in February this year to the CBI, while observing that “the entire effort of the police is to somehow give clean chit to the accused.”

It was alleged by the petitioner that a police team of Baksha police station in Jaunpur forcibly took away Krishna Yadav alias Pujari, who was about 24 years of age, on February 11, 2021 in an alleged false case and detained him at the police station.

When the informant (brother of the deceased) went to the police station, he was not allowed to meet his brother and the next morning (February 12, 2021), he was informed that his brother (Pujari) had died.

Thereafter, a case was registered against the accused police officers under Sections 302 (murder) and other sections of the IPC at Baksa police station. The police claimed that the youth was apprehended while he was driving a motorcycle, which fell due to which he received injuries and the public beat him up.

As per the police version, when the youth was sent for first aid along with a sub inspector and two constables, the doctor at the community health centre referred him to the district hospital, Jaunpur, and by the time they reached the district hospital, he had died.