We’re afraid of Army, cop tells high court

INDORE: Police officers have sought security if they are expected to cooperate with the court of inquiry at Mhow in the matter of altercation between the police and army jawans at Vijay Nagar police station in September 2015.
City superintendent of police (CSP) Vijay Nagar, Suraj Kumar Verma has made the demand in a counter affidavit filed before the Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh high court in the case of attack on police station by army officers.
Verma has also said that after the incident which happened at midnight on September 9 and 10, the police officers are scared that the army will again take law in their hands, if they go to the in-house inquiry being conducted by the Army officers. ‘(An) inquiry is going on before the criminal court, which will decide the fate of the case,’ the affidavit stated.
A division bench of Justice PK Jaiswal and Justice Vivek Rusia has listed the matter for final arguments after four weeks, as all the necessary documents have been filed by the parties involved in the case.
The affidavit by police has blamed the army jawans for not cooperating with the inquiry conducted into the incident whose report found no fault in the conduct of the police, and hence, no FIR had been lodged. However, a legal enquiry is being conducted at the trial court.
“The police have also stated that though army officers always protect the country, but it does not mean that they automatically get license to take the law in their hands and damage the property of the state,” Manish Yadav, petitioner Pramod Kumar’s counsel said.
On the night of September 9, 2015, the Vijay Nagar cops got engaged in an altercation with army officials outside a pub in the area. In response to this around 100 army jawans arrived at Vijay Nagar police station and vandalized the office, injuring six police officers. A woman officer was also injured in the incident.
A PIL had been filed by Manish Yadav, in which ministry of defence, state government, home ministry, Vijay Nagar police station CSP, SHO and DIG have been made respondents. The final arguments in the matter will be held on November 2, 2016.