Cops under scanner in 80-year-old mother’s search for ‘shot’ son

BHOPAL: For over two years, an 80-year-old woman in Guna is fighting a gritty battle to seek justice for her son, who she allegess was shot by police in front of her eyes on January 9, 2015. It took her all of 15 months to file a complaint, that too with the district collector, and it is only two weeks ago that her statement was recorded in a local court.
Till now, the mother, Appi Bai of Khejrachakk village, doesn’t know her son’s fate although she fears he is dead.Police filed a missing person’s report only in March this year on a court order, and changed it to a case of kidnapping in April.
The alleged victim, Aatmaram, is from the Pardi community of Guna in Madhya Pradesh. Many members of this tribe take to crime as a tradition. The accused police officer, Ramveer Khushwaha, was then an SI at Dharnawada police station in Guna and is now with the Special Task Force in Ujjain. Khushwaha rejects all the charges and told TOI that he is the victim of a conspiracy. Appi Bai, however, said: “Ramveer and his men killed my son. They shot him at Parvati River and then took him away after which my son was never seen again. Even after the high court’s order, police are not investigating the matter.”
Atmaram’s family alleges that he was “kidnapped” from home on June 9, 2015, by police. “On June 9, my son and other men from our community had gone to Parvati to immerse the ashes of a relative. Kushwaha and a few others came there and shot my son. After injuring him, they told us that they are taking him to hospital and would leave him after some time but after that I never saw my son again,” his mother said. “I struggled for almost two years to file a complaint against Kushwaha but nobody registered it. Finally, I filed and habeas corpus petition in Gwalior bench of high court, which took cognizance of my complaint and asked police to submit a status report. But police have not done anything in this regard,” alleged Appi Bai.
According to documents available with TOI, the high court in its order mentioned that it is a “serious matter and should be look into”. “It is the allegation of petitioner that sub-inspector Ramveer Kushwaha had taken the petitioner’s son on 9.06.2015 and since then there is no information about his whereabouts. This is a serious matter,” the order says, directing the IG of police, Gwalior zone, and Guna SP to give protection to Appi Bai.
Atmaram’s daughter Neelu Pardi said, “The court issued the order in February and asked for the status report within a month but nothing has been done by police.” Police took almost three months to take the statements of Appi Bai and other witnesses that too after the intervention of the Gwalior IG. Guna MLA Panna Lal Shakya criticised police for their “inaction” in the case. “I have seen the high court order and police are not doing their job properly. They are trying to save the policemen involved in the case. There are many allegations against Kushwaha that need to be investigated. If he is innocent, he will come out clean. Khushwaha questioned the complaint against him.
“This is a conspiracy against me. The story of the disappearance of Atmaram is a myth and a conspiracy by them. The witness in the case, Sulochana Pardi, her husband and others have killed my informers. Eighteen people were accused in the case and a few are still in jail. They are just doing this to malign my name.”
Sulochana was arrested in a theft case and handed over to Haryana police on May 24, 2017.
Asked about the probe into the alleged disappearance of Atmaram, Guna SP Avinash Singh said, “Our investigation is going on and we haven’t reached at any conclusion.”