Man accused of theft made to sit on bonnet of police vehicle, paraded on Jammu streets; probe ordered

JAMMU: A man accused of robbing a patient’s attendant and caught outside a hospital in Jammu’s Bakshinagar area on Tuesday was paraded on the streets by cops, with his hands tied and a garland of shoes around his neck, and was also briefly made to sit on the bonnet of a moving police vehicle.

Jammu SSP Joginder Singh ordered a departmental inquiry after a video of the incident went viral on social media, drawing criticism.

In a statement, the SSP said the sub-divisional police officer (city), north, had been entrusted with the probe, and asked to submit the findings within a week.

The accused was publicly paraded and humiliated by cops from the Bakshinagar police station, the SSP said, adding: “This act on the part of police personnel is unprofessional, unbecoming of members of a disciplined organisation and calls for a stern departmental action against them.”

Bakshinagar police said the accused was a notorious criminal and part of a gang that was recently busted in the area. A resident of Kashmir, he was found under the influence of drugs and caught after a scuffle and a long chase, they claimed.

According to police, the person who was robbed of Rs 40,000 a few days ago while buying medicines for a patient, identified the accused on Tuesday and confronted him. The accused attacked the man with a knife, causing injuries, and tried to flee.

“However, a police patrol team noticed the scuffle and managed to catch hold of the thief after a chase,” a police officer said, adding: “Some locals also joined the chase and after the thief was caught, they made him wear a garland of footwear and cheered as he was being taken to the police station, with a public address system announcing his arrest.”

This is the second such instance in Jammu this month when police dispensed instant justice to criminals after they were caught. On June 11, three men involved in a shooting incident on the outskirts of Jammu were beaten up in full public view while being taken to the police station.

Police later clarified that they were compelled to “apply necessary force” while returning from court after obtaining police remand, as the accused threatened civilians and even attempted to intimidate the cops on duty.

Earlier, a thief caught by locals for snatching a woman’s earrings was thrashed, his head half tonsured and face blackened, and was paraded semi-naked, before he was handed over to police on April 11.