Prayagraj, Sep 25 The Allahabad High Court has directed the UP director general of police (DGP) to conduct a discreet and independent inquiry into how a Mahindra XUV, seized by police in an excise case, was quietly taken out of a police station for a raid and later met with a fatal crash that killed a woman.
Justice Anil Kumar asked the state police chief to complete the probe within eight weeks and submit a compliance report. The court also took sharp exception to the police department letting off the errant personnel with mere “censure entries” in their service records.
Dismissing a petition filed by the car owner against the confiscation of his vehicle, the court noted that the confiscation order itself suffered from no legal flaw.
The reckless handling of the seized vehicle by Ramghat police officials in Bulandshahr exposed severe administrative lapses.
“The award of a mere censure entry without any apparent consideration of the gravity of the alleged misconduct, the consequences of the unauthorised use of the vehicle and the possibility of criminal liability prima facie appears wholly inadequate,” the court observed in its order dated September 22.
According to the facts, the XUV was seized on April 16, 2021 by Ramghat police after 19 cartons of illicit liquor were allegedly recovered from it. While confiscation proceedings were pending before the Bulandshahr District Magistrate, the vehicle was taken out of the police station on June 4, 2021.
The state counsel admitted before the court that Head Moharrir Sita Ram, in collusion with two constables Pankaj Rana and Narendra Singh, handed over the seized vehicle for a raid to catch a wanted accused. This was allegedly done without the knowledge of then SHO Birendra Singh.
Three days later, on June 7, 2021, the vehicle met with an accident in Mathura’s Raya area. The crash critically injured the parents of one Manoj Kumar, and his mother later died.
Mathura police then registered an FIR in the matter and seized the vehicle again.
When the high court questioned the state over action taken against the policemen, it emerged that the then Bulandshahr SSP had closed departmental proceedings by awarding only censure entries to the head moharrir and two constables.
The high court said that the incident was not a routine procedural lapse but involved “unauthorised removal and use of a seized vehicle, breach of entrusted custody and conduct resulting in the vehicle being involved in a fatal accident”.
The bench asked the DGP to examine if the conduct of the policemen attracted criminal charges such as theft, criminal misappropriation or criminal breach of trust.
The probe will also look into the supervisory lapses of the then SHO and the then Bulandshahr SSP.
(PTI News)
