An official complaint has been filed against five policemen and two unidentified persons for allegedly brutally torturing a Muslim man in Kakrala, an area of Badaun District in India's Uttar Pradesh state.
The 22-year-old victim is a vegetable vendor, arrested on 2 May under suspicion that he was involved in cow slaughtering and had links to criminal gangs.
The cops allegedly tortured him the whole night — shoved a stick inside the man's rectum and gave him repeated electric shocks. When the cops realised that they had picked up the wrong person, they gave him INR 100 ($1.3) and released him.
The victim was hospitalised after suffering repeated seizures.
Taking suo-motu cognisance of the matter, a senior police officer has registered a case against the cops under Sections 342 (wrongful confinement) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
"The allegations against the five policemen were found to be true during a preliminary investigation. Therefore, we have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against them for wrongful confinement and torture," said.
Praveen Singh Chauhan, a senior police officer, told reporters that steps were being taken to suspend the policemen, adding: "An impartial investigation will be carried out in this case. We are also supporting the family to ensure the best possible treatment for the victim".