The Delhi High Court has directed the city’s Police Commissioner to ensure preservation of CCTV footage of December 18 at Parliament Street police station on a plea by some acid attack victims that they were subjected to “custodial violence” while holding a peaceful protest.
Justice Vibhu Bakhru also issued s notice to Delhi Police seeking its response to the plea of the acid attack victims who have alleged that the police had on December 18 intercepted them when they were holding a protest and detained them at Parliament Street police station.
The court directed the Commissioner of Police to ensure that CCTV footage of December 18 between 11 am to 5pm of Parliament Street police station is preserved and listed the matter for further hearing on February 3, 2015.
The petitioners, in their plea filed through advocate Lauv Kumar, have also alleged the detainees, including five women, were beaten up by the police while they were kept in an enclosure inside the police station.
“The petitioners and other protestors were brought to Parliament Street police station wherein they were detained inside a compound situated somewhere in the middle of the premises.
“The officials of Delhi Police resorted to physical violence and beating of the detained protesters. The detained persons repeatedly demanded the officials at Parliament Street police station to get their medical check-up done which was squarely denied..,” the petition has said.
It has sought preservation of the CCTV footage of the police station, saying they were “a piece of key evidence” of “all the unwarranted physical and custodial violence”.
It has also sought “an independent investigation by a special investigation team into the above-mentioned incident of illegal detention, police atrocities and custodial violence” as well as damages to the tune of Rs 10 lakh from the Delhi Police.
The petition has also sought Rs 50,000 each as compensation from Delhi Police to all the five petitioners and guidelines from the court for dealing with the detention of protesters in and around Jantar Mantar or Parliament by the police.
