Meerut: A special SC/ST court in Meerut has dismissed a petition filed by Ravi Kumar Gautam against nine police officers, including then Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Avinash Pandey, over allegations of caste-based discrimination and third-degree torture during an incident on July 8.
The court of Additional Sessions Judge/Special Judge (SC/ST Act) dismissed the petition on October 15, observing that the allegations under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were not substantiated by the material and reports placed before it.
Gautam, a resident of Noida, has announced that he will challenge the order before the Allahabad High Court, claiming that his petition was dismissed despite the existence of evidence supporting his allegations.
The petition named nine police personnel, including the then SSP Avinash Pandey, SP (Rural) Abhijeet Kumar, SP (Traffic) Rajesh Kumar Srivastava, and other officers associated with Civil Lines and Lisari Gate police stations. It also named 50 unidentified police personnel.
According to Gautam’s complaint, he was on his way to the District Magistrate’s office on July 8 to submit a memorandum concerning the murder of Lalita Gautam, a Dalit woman, when police allegedly subjected him to third-degree torture. He alleged that the action against him was motivated by caste-based discrimination and questioned the role of senior police officials in the incident.
During the proceedings, the court considered the response submitted by the police and a report from the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Meerut Range.
According to the police-side report, criminal cases had been registered against Gautam and his associates. It also alleged that they staged a sit-in protest outside the District Magistrate’s office for around four hours, causing inconvenience to the public and disrupting traffic.
The report further raised allegations that a Mahapanchayat had been organised without permission and that inflammatory speeches were delivered during the gathering. The police also contended that posters related to the proposed Mahapanchayat were being carried and that prohibitory orders were in force.
After examining the available material and reports, the court dismissed the petition, providing relief to the police officers named in it from the proceedings arising out of the complaint.
