The Bengaluru Police have suspended a sub-inspector for allegedly assaulting a 23-year-old Muslim man at a police station and forcing him to drink urine, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday. The suspended sub-inspector has been identified as Harish KN posted at Byatarayanapura police station.
The alleged incident happened after the Muslim man, Tausif Pasha, was brought to the police station on December 2 around 1 am after he had a spat with his neighbour. The man’s father, Aslam Pasha, claimed that his son was assaulted and the police had demanded money to release him.
“But we never knew that Tausif was subject to brutal torture till he came out of the police station,” he said.
In a video, Tausif Pasha claimed that he was brutally assaulted by the sub-inspector and a constable, reported the Hindustan Times.
“They hit me with cricket bat at least 30 times and when I asked them for water to drink, they made me drink urine,” he claimed. “They also cut my beard. I begged them not to do so as it was part of my faith, but they said this [police station] was not a religious centre. They also made me clean the police station.”
He added: “They told me that they [would] file a kidnapping case against me and send me to jail for two years.”
Pasha’s family alleged that he was kept at the police station for two days even though a case was not filed against him. He was released after MLA BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan intervened, said Pasha’s father.
After being released, Pasha was admitted to a hospital and was discharged on Monday, his family said.
Following the incident, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Sanjeev M Patil had sought a report from the assistant commissioner of police. After the report was submitted on Monday, the sub-inspector was suspended.
Patil told The Indian Express that Harish was suspended for dereliction of duty, not reporting to the police station and for not registering the case. The police have also ordered a departmental inquiry to look into the allegations made by Pasha’s family.
Karnataka has reported incidents of police torture earlier too.
On December 1, 22-year-old man named Salman alleged that his right arm had to be amputated because the police tortured him in custody. Salman had claimed that he was illegally detained in connection with a theft case.
In September, the police had arrested sub-inspector Arjun Horakeri for allegedly forcing a Dalit man to drink urine.
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