Cops out with measuring tape

A man abducted and brutally beaten up by the family of his ex-lover struggled to get an FIR lodged as personnel from two police stations fought over jurisdiction issues

A man abducted and brutally beaten up by the family of his ex-lover struggled to get an FIR lodged as personnel from two police stations fought over jurisdiction issues

This case may sound bizarre enough to be an aberration, but it is a rather common practice for Delhi police personnel to decide the jurisdiction of a case with inch tapes. On occasions, even at the cost of delaying justice.

Police story: Personnel at Anand Vihar police stationu00a0managed to prove
that the case comes under the jurisdiction of Farsh Bazaar police. Pics/mid day

The recent incident turned out to be a face-off between cops from Anand Vihar and Farsh Bazaar police stations in east Delhi. The victim, Ravinder Pratap Singh (35), a resident of East Vinod Nagar had arrived at the Anand Vihar police station to lodge an FIR. According to Ravinder, he was kidnapped from near the Karkardooma Court on the 5th of this month.

Love bites
"I lived in Loni area of UP a long time back. I was in touch with a girl who was my neighbour and we often spoke over the phone. Earlier this year I moved to East Vinod Nagar in Delhi and got married in March. On the 4th of December the girl fled from her house in Loni.

Her parents assumed that I was involved in the incident. They called me up on December 5 and asked me to meet them near Karkardooma Court in the morning. I went there in my car. As I reached the spot I saw the girl's father Rakesh Fauji and the girl's brother Amit standing there with 4-5 other people. I thought they wanted to talk but they showed me a pistol and kidnapped me in my own car and took me to Loni. They locked me in their home and started beating me. They were asking me about the girl," said Ravinder.

The accused allegedly dumped the victim near the Loni police post in UP. The cops there asked the victim about the girl. After being satisfied that Ravinder was not involved in the matter the cops from UP sent him back.

Back and forth
"First I went to Mandawali police station because my house comes under the area. But the cops there said that the crime scene comes under Anand Vihar police station. So we went to Anand Vihar to lodge an FIR against Rakesh and others for kidnapping.

But there the policemen told me that the area comes under Farsh Bazaar police station. We went to Farsh Bazaar but the same story was repeated. The policemen there claimed that the spot falls under the jurisdiction of Anand Vihar police. Finally after hours of conflict the cops from both police stations went to the spot carrying measuring tapes to settle the matter," said Ravinder, the complainant.

The cops were at the spot till late at night measuring the area. Finally Anand Vihar claimed victory and the case was officially transferred to the Farsh Bazaar police station at 10.30pm. The victim then moved to Farsh Bazaar where a complaint has been filed. An FIR could be lodged in the next few days. When MiD DAY contacted senior cops they refused to comment on the issue.

Know this?

What you can do if your FIR is not registered:
>>u00a0You can meet the Superintendent of Police or other higher officers like Deputy Inspector General of Police & Inspector General of Police and bring your complaint to their notice.
>> You can send your complaint in writing and by post to the
Superintendent of Police concerned. If the Superintendent of Police is satisfied with your complaint, he shall either investigate the case himself or order an investigation to be made.
>> You can file a private complaint before the court having jurisdiction.
>> You can also make a complaint to the State Human Rights Commission or the National Human Rights Commission if the police does nothing to enforce the law or does it in a biased and corrupt manner.

Kuch bhi karega

Cops in Delhi and even other parts of the country are notorious for citing jurisdiction to victims at the slightest pretext, in order to maintain a clean slate as far as number of crimes committed in their area is concerned. Sources say that sometimes policemen go to the extent of shifting a corpse from one place to another in order to avoid responsibility.

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Cases in point

Body of evidence
On October 23 a corpse was found under the railway over bridge in Vivek Vihar area. The body was right under the railway lines and on the under pass. The local police and the railway police were each shirking responsibility. The stalemate continued for over 6 hours. The cops then used the measuring tape but without success. The crowd then took the body and protested against the cops. Finally railway police lodged an FIR and took the corpse to the mortuary. The body had been lying at the spot for over 13 hours.
Chain of events
On June 13 some miscreants snatched the gold chain of a girl in Bhajanpura area.
The girl made a PCR call but the local police said that the case would come under the jurisdiction of New Usmanpur police station.
The victim had come from Mumbai to meet her relatives. The cops kept citing the jurisdiction issue for hours.
The girl's relatives then called some senior officials. An FIR was lodged at Bhajanpura police station only after the intervention of senior cops.