Uttar Pradesh: High court transfers Jaunpur custodial death case to CBI

PRAYAGRAJ: Observing that 'the entire effort of the police is to somehow give clean chit to the accused', the Allahabad high court has transferred a probe into the alleged custodial death of a 24-year-old man in Jaunpur to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Hearing a writ petition filed by one Ajay Kumar Yadav of Jaunpur, a division bench comprising Justice Surya Prakash Kesarwani and Justice Piyush Agrawal transferred the probe while underscoring that if the investigation is not effective, purposeful, objective or fair, the courts may, if considered necessary, order fair investigation, further investigation or reinvestigation as the case may be, to discover the truth so as to prevent the miscarriage of justice.
It is alleged that the Jaunpur police forcibly took away a youth -- Krishna Yadav alias Pujari -- on February 11, 2021 in a loot case and detained him at the Buksa police station.
When the informant (brother of the deceased) went to the police station, he was not allowed to meet his brother (deceased), and next day in the morning on February 12, 2021, he received information that his brother had died.
Thereafter, a case was registered against the accused police officers under Sections 302 (murder) and other sections of the IPC at Buksa police station of UP’s Jaunpur district.
On the other hand, police claimed that the deceased was apprehended while he was driving a motorcycle which fell, due to which he received injuries and the public beat him up.
It was further stated that when he was sent for first aid along with a sub-inspector and two constables, the doctor at the CHC referred him for treatment to district hospital, Jaunpur, and by the time they reached the district hospital, he had succumbed to his injuries.
Due to the custodial death, a judicial inquiry was entrusted in the matter to the chief judicial magistrate (CJM), Jaunpur, and it recorded the statements of 16 witnesses, however, it did not reach any conclusion.
After going through the record of the case, the court observed in its judgment on Wednesday: “The entire effort of the police is to somehow give clean chit to the accused and for this purpose important evidences are being left and some pieces of evidence are being created and manipulated. But presently we do not want to comment any more since fair investigation is yet to be carried by an independent and impartial agency."
Transferring the probe to the CBI, the court posted the matter as fresh for further hearing on September 20, 2021.
While noting that fair and proper investigation is the primary duty of the investigating officer and "a speedy trial" is the essence of companion in concept in "fair trial", the court observed, "In every civilized society, the police force is invested with powers of investigation of a crime to secure punishment for the criminal and it is in the interest of society that the investigating agency must act honestly and fairly and not resort to fabricating false evidence or creating false clues only with a view to secure conviction because such acts shake the confidence of the common man not only in the investigating agency but in the ultimate analysis in the system of dispensation of criminal justice."