Uttarakhand court orders FIR & probe against ex-IPS officer for stripping trader in SP’s office

PITHORAGARH: The chief judicial magistrate court in Pithoragarh has ordered registration of an FIR against ex-IPS officer Lokeshwar Singh and other police personnel for “stripping and assaulting a local trader inside the SP’s office in 2023” — a case that has already resulted in a finding of guilt by the state’s police complaints authority but, as yet, seen no concrete govt action.CJM court’s order came on a complaint filed by trader Laxmi Datt Joshi, who alleged that on Feb 6, 2023, he was summoned to the SP’s office in Pithoragarh’s Takana on the pretext of questioning related to cleanliness at police quarters. There, then-SP Singh and other cops humiliated him after “detaining him for a considerable period”.In the court, Joshi stated he had given an application to Pithoragarh DM and filed a complaint on ‘CM portal’. But with little relief, he decided to then submit an application to the state police complaints authority in Nainital on Feb 8, 2023. Taking note of his plea, the authority, in Dec 2025, passed an order against Singh and other cops (without mentioning number of police personnel), and recommended “departmental action” to the state’s home department.Singh denied the allegations, claiming Joshi was called only for questioning in connection with a vehicle arson case and was allowed to leave the same day. He also claimed that Joshi, who runs a small garments business, “has a criminal past”. The authority, however, found Singh’s claims to be “inconsistent”.Following the authority’s order, the complainant said that when police declined to register an FIR at station-level in Pithoragarh later that month, he approached court on March 16, 2026. CJM court on Friday ordered the SHO to lodge an FIR against the ex-IPS officer and launch a probe, and “inform the court on the action taken”.Notably, Singh resigned from police service on Oct 14, 2025, days before the authority’s verdict, and took up a job with an organisation affiliated with the United Nations. A 2014-batch IPS officer, Singh had last served as SSP Pauri Garhwal.