Jalna cop suspended for shoddy handling of accident case

AURANGABAD: The Jalna police on Monday suspended a head constable for callously handling an accident case, wherein two people had died in November last year.
The suspended constable has been identified as V Tambe.
The accident took place around 11.30 pm on November 15 under the jurisdiction of the Badnapur police, when a pick-up van with registration number MH-21 B-8090 hit an autorickshaw from behind near Varudi village on busy Jalna road.Saddam Munshi Qureshi (23) and Rahil Irfan Qureshi (7), both residents of Nutan Vasahat in Jalna, died on the spot. Saddam’s brothers Rizwan and Irfan, his mother Abeda Bi, and nephews Rahil and Sahil also suffered minor injuries in the accident.
Rizwan (38) stated in his complaint to the police that the police recorded the statement of his son Sahil (9) by showing him as an 18-year-old. Sahil is student of std III in a Jalna-based school. Besides, the police also wrongly recorded his mother’s age as 42, whereas her actual age is 55 years.
Later, the Badnapur police refused to give any details to the victims’ family and instead filed a charge sheet in the court around two months ago without informing the deputy superintendent of police and following due procedure, Rizwan alleged.
Based on the complaint lodged by Rizwan, a case was registered at the Badnapur police station. However, instead of registering a case against the pick-up van driver, the police booked the autorickshaw driver.
Finally, the family approached Jalna superintendent of police Jyoti Priya Singh, who conducted an inquiry into the matter and immediately suspended the head constable. He has also ordered a detailed probe to find out the role of other officials.
Rizwan told TOI, “On November 15, our family had gone to Paithan to choose a bride for my younger brother Saddam. He was carrying Rs 50,000 in cash so that we could solemnize his marriage then and there itself, provided the girl’s parents agreed. However, we had to postpone his marriage due to some reasons and were returning home in the autorickshaw.”
On their way back to Jalna, the family members decided to stop and pay obeisance at the Shekta-based Dargah. Soon after leaving the place, the auto they were travelling in was hit by a speeding pick-up van from behind.
“The investigating officer (Tambe) not only implicated us as accused in the case, but also went ahead and showed my nine-year-old son’s age as 18. Besides, we were neither allowed to read the statements written by the police nor provided the copies of FIR, charge sheet and related documents. We have been visiting the Badnapur police station almost every day for past three months, but in vain. Finally, we approached Singh on Friday. Thereafter, Singh asked the police to provide him all the documents,” Rizwan said.
Rizwan’s younger brother Irfan said, “Whenever we reached the police station and requested for the copies of FIR and recorded statements, the cops either abused or assaulted us. When they severely thrashed us on Friday, we approached Singh and lodged a complaint against the Badnapur police.”
Singh said, “The manner in which these lower rung cops have handled the case is shocking. I have also found that the accused constable did not even verify the charge sheet filed by the sub-divisional police officer and bypassed him. Such nonsense will not be tolerated. I have suspended the head constable, who was the investigating officer, holding him responsible for all the blunders he committed. I have also ordered a probe against him, after which a departmental inquiry would be initiated.”
“It is beyond imagination that a nine-year-old kid is being shown as 18 years old. There are enough grounds for initiating an inquiry and disciplinary action against the head constable,” Singh said.
She said if it is found during the course of investigation that some more cops are involved, they too will face severe disciplinary action.