In an instance of police brutality, a Dalit woman accused of murdering her husband was beaten up by an inspector, prompting authorities to suspend him.
The incident occurred on Wednesday in Manyari village in Aliganj area here after Deepak Kumar was found strangulated following which his mother lodged an FIR and the police started looking for his wife Sangeeta.
The woman was rounded up after some time and allegedly confessed to the crime, SP, Sultanpur, Satyendra Veer Singh said. Despite the confession, the Inspector Kailash Nath Dubey beat her up as a subordinate lady officer looked on.
The police officer is seen slapping the woman, ripping her clothes apart, pushing her to the ground and continuously punching and kicking her.
Condemning the incident, Singh said, "This kind of behaviour was really uncalled for. The lady had already confessed to the crime that she had murdered her husband... There was absolutely no need of beating up this lady so mercilessly."
"It was total brutality on part of the inspector. Finding him guilty, we have put him under suspension. A departmental inquiry is on. We will take necessary action against him," Singh said.
Asked about the presence of the lady police personnel at the time of the incident, Singh said, "She is a subordinate officer. When the inspector is doing something, she is not supposed to (interfere). What I can say is that there was absolutely no need for this kind of attitude on part of the police. We have found him (inspector) guilty of absolute misconduct."
Section 46 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states that no woman shall be arrested after sunset and before sunrise, and she has the right to refuse to go to the police station between 6 pm and 6 am even if an arrest warrant has been issued in her name.
Further, a policewoman can only handle a woman suspect and male cops cannot touch her. A policewoman has to be present during the interrogations.
A woman suspect cannot be arrested by a police officer, who is below the rank of Assistant Sub-Inspector. She can only be arrested in the presence of male relatives.
