CBI Books Six J&K Police Officials for ‘Brutal, Inhuman’ Custodial Torture: Reports

SRINAGAR: Reports appearing in the media said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR against six Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel, including a Deputy Superintendent of Police, following allegations of brutal custodial torture inflicted on a fellow constable, Khursheed Ahmad Chohan, in 2023.

The action follows a Supreme Court order transferring the probe to the CBI after the Jammu and Kashmir High Court reportedly rejected a plea by the victim seeking a CBI inquiry. The apex court, calling it one of the “most barbaric instances of police atrocity”, observed that the high court had failed in its constitutional duty to protect the fundamental rights and dignity of the citizen.

According to the FIR filed by the CBI, the accused include DSP Aijaz Ahmad Naiko, Sub-Inspector Riyaz Ahmad, and four other police officials — Jahangir Ahmad, Imtiyaz Ahmad, Mohammad Younis and Shakir Ahmad — all of whom were then posted at the Joint Interrogation Centre in Kupwara.

Chohan, who was posted in Baramulla, was reportedly summoned through official communication to appear before the SSP Kupwara on February 17, 2023, ostensibly in connection with a narcotics case. Upon arrival, he was allegedly handed over to the Joint Interrogation Centre, where he was subjected to sustained custodial torture for six days.

The FIR quotes a harrowing complaint from the victim’s wife, stating that her husband was tortured using iron rods and electric shocks, his private parts mutilated, and red pepper forcibly inserted into his rectum. The Supreme Court, citing hospital records and forensic evidence, said the genitalia were brought separately in a plastic bag by a sub-inspector when Chohan was admitted to SKIMS Hospital on February 26, 2023.

Rejecting the Union Territory administration’s claim that Chohan had attempted suicide, the court said the timeline and medical evidence “conclusively” ruled out the possibility of self-inflicted injuries. It added that the extent and nature of injuries, including complete castration, injuries on soles and hands, and the presence of vegetative matter in the rectum, were consistent with “custodial torture techniques.”

The court also pointed to inconsistencies in the police account — Chohan was allegedly summoned on the basis of FIR No. 1 of 2023, yet the case he was later implicated in was FIR No. 17 of 2023, which was registered only after his detention began.

The Supreme Court ordered the CBI to also investigate systemic issues at the Kupwara interrogation centre, including CCTV footage, presence of other personnel, forensic evidence from the premises, and the standard protocols used for detention and interrogation.

The apex court directed that Chohan be paid Rs 50 lakh as compensation, recoverable from the accused officers upon conclusion of the CBI investigation, and ordered that departmental proceedings be initiated.

The FIR does not name the then SSP Kupwara as an accused, though the complaint mentions that he remained a “mute spectator” throughout.