Missing Aligarh police inspector might have met gory fate: HC

Agra: Allahabad high court, while hearing a habeas corpus petition in the matter of Aligarh inspector missing for three months, on Thursday said the case now suggests that he "might have met with a gory fate", requiring deeper criminal scrutiny rather than just tracing a missing person. "This is no longer a case where the man is in illegal detention of police, he might have been illegally detained and apparently met with a gory fate," said HC.Criticising UP Police for its "grave and serious" lapses, HC directed that the ongoing habeas corpus plea be converted into a criminal miscellaneous petition as the matter beyond the scope of a traditional habeas corpus plea.After the last hearing on Dec 10, a bench of Justices J J Munir and Sanjiv Kumar noted that in a compliance affidavit submitted by Aligarh SSP, police suggested that a body found on railway tracks near Daud Khan station might be that of the missing inspector, Anuj Kumar.HC also expressed serious concern over police's approach and the circumstances highlighted in the affidavit. "They want us to accept or believe that the body was of (Anuj Kumar). They have even called him 'abducted'. The report regarding the body found on the railway tracks near Daud Khan railway station is elusive. Every CCTV camera that could have captured crucial movements has been reported as non-functional, raising suspicion about possible deliberate evidence destruction," the court said.Inspector Kumar has been missing under mysterious circumstances for nearly three months after he was allegedly picked up by cops following a quarrel between him and his wife on Sept 17. Police claimed that on Sept 19, Kumar was suspended for "misbehaving with seniors", and the family was informed.A missing complaint was registered on Oct 18 only after his mother, Sushila Devi, fearing foul play, filed a habeas corpus petition in HC. Documents showed that the general diary (GD) entry on Oct 18 was converted into an FIR on Nov 12 after HC completed at least two hearings of the habeas corpus plea and issued notices to parties concerned, including Aligarh SSP.The FIR was filed in Aligarh's Mahua Kheda police station under BNS Section 140 (3) (kidnapping), and the probe was handed over to DSP of Hathras's Sikandarao circle, J N Asthana, on Nov 13.Speaking to TOI, Asthana said, "Kumar's family from his wife's side came and met the police but they refused to identify the body. His mother's side is yet to meet us. Initial investigation hints that the unidentified body was his, and circumstantial evidence does not hint at any foul play. Prima facie, it's a case of accident."Kumar's family said they were cooperating with the police and would soon meet Asthana. Kumar joined service in 2012 on compassionate grounds after his father died on duty.

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