This has to do with an F.I.R. filed by one Atindra Jain, against Harbhajan Singh Chopra in Ghazibad, U.P. Mr. Chopra is a 78 year old british national, who was arrested on Tuesday, February 8th in Goa. Upon examining the contents of the F.I.R., it seems that the required due dilligence was NOT carried out by the Ghaziabad Police.

This entire FIR seems to be glued together with the sworn testimony of the witness Mr. Meharban Singh Sodhi. Now who is this Meharban Singh Sodhi? Is he even Meherban Singh Sodhi or is he actually a Mr. Resham Singh Bains, who happens to be a british national, currently residing at 85 Kailash Hills, New Delhi. We don’t really know whether his real name is Meherban Singh Sodhi or Resham Singh Bains. Hence, how can such a witness have any kind of credibility when he happens to be a person of least amount of credibility?

Whatever the person’s real name is, the fact is, that he last landed in India on a british passport (number 301674642, issued on June 30, 2002) issued in the name of Mr. Reshm SIngh Bains. Mr. Bains (or Mr. Sodhi) resides at the above mentioned address and also happens to posses an Indian passport. The pictures on both the passports are a perfect likeness of the same person.

The fact of the matter is, that Meherban SIngh/Resham Singh is a career criminal and has committed multiple frauds in India and in several other countries. He has been travelling on a the above passport, in which has has stolen the identity of legitimate british national, who may or may not even be currently alive. Resham Singh Bains is currently wanted in the U.K., by the Fraud Office of the U.K. Government.

Another criminal Mr. Davinder Sharma, alais Garner who happens to be a well know underworld character, surprisingly accompanied the Ghazibad Police to Goa, in oder to arrest the 78 year old Mr. Chopra. They even made sure that Mr. Chopra’s dramatic arrest was captured on camera and video and the major news media was promptly informed of the arrest. Davinder Sharma was seen on tv, accompanying the Ghazibad Police at the secene of Mr. Chopra’s arrest and subsequently, in the Goa court, where Mr. Chopra was brought. What Ghaziabad Police failed to investigate was that the Chopra family had filed a lawsuit against Davinder Sharma in December 2008, for extortion and harrassment. Mr. Chopra’s arrest was a retaliatory act by Devendra Sharma, to get even with the Chopra for having filed the lawsuit against them. The actual complainant Atindra Jain never ever met with any member of the Chopra family and hence, there was no question of him ever having loaned any money to them.

A very important fact to be noted here is that Resham Singh was an employee of Gurvinder Chopra in in London, U.K. and was subsequently brought to India to work for him over there, as his driver. It was then, that that Gurvinder Chopra found out that Resham SIngh’s real name is not Rashm Singh Bains, but is Meharban Singh Sodhi and that Meharban Singh stole the identity of one Mr. Resham Singh Bains in the U.K. and obtained a passport in his name, but with his own picture. At that point, Gurvinder Chopra dismissed Meharban Singh. Further, Gurvinder Chopra found out that Meharban Singh had stolen several of his belongings, including the check book mentioned in the Atinder Jain, F.I.R.. Somewhere along, Maherban Singh got in touch with Davinder Sharma (who happened to be an adverary of Gurvinder Chopra) and colluded with him plan this entire F.I.R. Atindra Jain is merely a decoy of Davinder Sharma and he never ever met with any member of the Chopra family.

Davinder Sharma bribed several officials and members of the Ghaziabad Police, in order to achieve his agenda. In reply to the Chopra family’s extortion case against Davinder Sharma, he gave a sworn statement to the Delhi Police Crime Brand Division in Sunlight Colony that he had given Rs. 60 crores to the Chopra family, in cash, as a loan. The Chopra family denied those allegations, but Davinder Sharma never got arrested against the Chopra family’s complaint. Since he is a well-known underworld operator, the police would never touch him, due the the power and the connections that he has. He several charges pending agianst him in the Crime Branch Speciall Cell at the Sunlight Colony Police Station, in New Delhi. Those charges include murder, extortion and criminal conspiracy. It is very strange that when Davinder Sharma claimed in his statement with the police that he loaned the alleged amount of Rs. 60 crore in cash to the Chopra family, they never tried to find out where Davinder Sharma got such a huge amount of cash from. Rs. 60 crore is an extremely large sum of money, especially in cash form. He should have been investigated by the Income Tax Department, to reveal the sources of such huge sum of money and whether or not, has has paid any income taxes against that money.

Breaking all boundaries of vandalism, the act of beastly violence that was executed by the police today at Sant Shri Asaramji Ashram, can terrify & shake the heart. The rally that was drawn in protest against the Sandesh newspaper saw their own miscreants getting into the crowd and instigating the people to pelt stones at the police. In the resulting violence that ensued, some senior police officials and other police staff were injured in the attack. One or two senior officials also suffered some major head injuries in the conflict with the crowd. The revenge for this act was inflicted by the police on the same day by brutally assaulting about three to four hundred participants in the rally. 236 people were arrested, including people who were admitted in hospital after being injured in police lathi charge. The people admitted in hospital were also not spared and were picked up by the police after preliminary first aid treatment. Legal Section 307 relating to murder was also imposed on them. But the senior police officers were still not satisfied even after inflicting such cruel brutalities on the people who believed in Hindu religion & culture and were devoted to their spiritual Master. In their rage of anger, they wanted to engulf the entire Ashram of Pujya Bapuji. The culmination was a huge and terrible terrorist attack like situation in the Ashram late in the afternoon wherein a large convoy of nearly 150 policemen suddenly struck the Ashram premises. Whoever was found in the Ashram, wherever & in whatever situation, was beaten in a barbaric manner with lathis, sticks, shoes and rifle butts. People were chased in the Ashram, and catching hold of them, they were bundled up in half a dozen large police vans. All showcase glass windows were smashed unnecessarily. Some sadhaks had closed the doors of their rooms out of fear. Their rooms were broken through and those sadhaks were taken away while mercilessly beating them with sticks on the way. Even elderly sadhaks who had come to Ashram from out-station for anushthhaan were not spared. The room of one of the sadhaks, who was doing saadhna in the Maun Mandir for a week, was also broken through, and he was dragged away by the police, pulling him by the hair. Such was the nature of cruel police brutality that they even opened fire to terrorize the sadhaks who were running towards the river to save themselves. This entire operation of police imposed terror in the peaceful Ashram of a Self Realized Brahmagyani saint lasted for about one and half to two hours. Every nook and corner of the Ashram was searched; people were looked up from every single place in the Ashram, and in the end, they were hurled into large police vans which were already kept prepared for the encounter.

The incident did not end here. About 10-12 kids and elderly sadhaks were released from the place where all these people were taken (possibly due to legal implications). Out of those released, was a retired South Indian professor who had himself suffered 10-12 blows with sticks at the hands of the police. He updated that the police had planned for them to sit in an open field about 50 yards from the place where they got down the police van. All along the way, the policemen positioned themselves on both the sides and armed with sticks, assaulted the arrested people saying that their senior officer had suffered 10 stitches in the head (during the rally). The vengeance of the ten stitches on their senior police officers was wreaked on numerous innocent sadhaks by the inhuman police jawaans. It appeared as though these police officers were keen to please & display their loyalty to the senior officers through such malevolent acts.

The architect of these entire heart rending scenes which shake the foundations of humanity was “Sandesh” newspaper. Sandesh newspaper has been exposed to the public recently in a sting operation CD named “Sajish ka Pardafash” for directly conspiring for many years in nefarious activities & defamation acts against Pujya Bapuji. Through its unscrupulous and scheming ways, Sandesh created unrest in the rally and pitched the police against the Ashram. Using its complete financial and political influence to save its existence, Sandesh thus planned & executed the entire event.

The atrocious behavior of the police in today’s civilized society is a stigma on the name of humanity. No condemnation can be too high for this brutal act.

We would like to appeal to Hon’ble President of India, Prime Minister, Supreme Court Chief Justice, Union Home Minister, the Governor of Gujarat, Chief Minister and Chief Justice, all humanitarian organizations throughout the world, Chairman Human Rights Commission, and good leaders of all political parties to immediately come forward and investigate this inhuman act, so that stern action is taken without delay against the guilty. The clandestine role of the owners of “Sandesh” newspaper involved in secretly conspiring against the Ashram should also be investigated. Hordes of enthusiastic photographers & reporters from the electronic & print media were on the spot to cover the entire event of police terror, which was broadcast LIVE not only in India, but internationally as well. Else, this heinous act would have remained unknown and overlooked by all.

Apart from these organizations, we would also like to appeal to all the honored saints of the country wide religions & communities that they join us against this extremely well planned attack on the Indian “Sanatan” culture, so that we can give such forces a fitting reply in time and protect the very existence of our religion, culture and society.

With this aspiration,

Hari Om…

NEW DELHI – Twenty five years after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, those who lost their family members have not given up hope of getting justice, and are pinning their hopes on the court hearing the case against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler.

“We are left with only one hope of getting justice and that is from the court. We are praying to god that court should help us in punishing the guilty. The last 25 years was a terrible experience for all of us, said Amrit Singh Lovely, a resident of Tilak Vihar in west Delhi.

He said some of the victims’ families will protest outside the court Saturday.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had, at the last hearing, said the witnesses, who deposed about the alleged role of Tytler in the anti-Sikh riots, were “not reliable”.

Additional CBI public prosecutor submitted before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Rakesh Pandit that the two witnesses, Surinder Singh – who died recently – and Jasbir Singh, were unreliable as they have contradicted their statements on various occasions.

Citing the case of Surinder, who had deposed against Tytler, the CBI counsel said Surinder, in his first affidavit before the Nanavati Commission in January 2002, had stated that Tytler along with others had attacked Gurdwara Pul Bangash in north Delhi and killed Thakur Singh and Badal Singh. But in another affidavit in August 2002, Surinder had denied Tytler’s role, he added.

The probe agency will Saturday continue its argument on the version given by Jasbir Singh.

Jasbir too claimed to be witness to the Nov 1, 1984, incident when a mob had set on fire the gurdwara, killing three people.

The CBI had last month during the hearing also placed before the court audio visual evidence showing that Tytler was near the body of assassinated prime minister Indira Gandhi at the time of the incident.

CBI, which had April 2 sought to close the case against Tytler claiming there wasn’t sufficient evidence against him, had questioned the jurisdiction of a magisterial court and sought the matter to be transferred to a sessions court.

The court, however, was not convinced with the CBI’s arguments and decided to hear the closure report.

Over 3,000 Sikhs were killed in the riots in various cities following the assassination of Indira Gandhi on Oct 31, 1984.

A few weeks back, P.Chidambaram, the home minister, asked Delhi-ites to mend their ways before the Commonwealth Games. “We must behave as citizens of a big, good international city,” he said. Clearly, Delhi Police thought it was not included. Joel Elliott, an award-winning American freelance journalist, working as a staff writer at Caravan magazine in Delhi since May this year, has  charged “six to seven hours of beating and torture” by Delhi Police, for intervening while the cops were thrashing another man. Delhi Police, on its part, insists that Elliot was drunk, trying to steal a taxi, and had beaten up a couple of police men and an elderly driver. Even if we go by the Delhi Police version, what  does it say about the rule of law in India’s capital city and the way its police metes out instant justice? Following is the full text of the signed statement of Joel Elliott about the night of Oct. 5 and the morning of Oct. 6.

Background:
I am a journalist working for The Caravan, a narrative journalism magazine run by Delhi Press. I also freelance for a number of publications, including The New York Times. The Christian Science Monitor. San Francisco Chronicle and Global Post. I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Toccoa Falls College in Georgia, USA. My work has won a number of state, regional and national awards in the United States.

Narrative:
On the evening of Oct 5, I visited the home of Kate Webb and Ryan Fletcher, two freelance journalist friends of mine who were flying out to London at 5 the next morning. My own flight, to the United States, would leave in a few days hence, and so we wanted l” spend one more evening together as we three would not see each other again for quite Some time. Their home is in Jangpura Extension, as is mine. We are separated by some six or seven blocks, perhaps eight.

I became tired sometime around 2 a.m. Oct 6, and set out on foot, atone, to my home As I was walking in the darkness, I came around the comer of a building and walked literally into the middle of an altercation between at least four Delhi Police Officers, in uniform, beating a person beside the street. As I had not been paying attention, one police officer’s baton struck me, perhaps by accident, while he was beating the other person on the ground. Startled. I shouted. When I realized what was happening to the person on the ground, I shouted again. The police officer closest to me turned and advanced, shouting something in a language I did not understand. I shouted back, saying they couldn’t just beat people in the street. In the middle of the exchange, the officer swung his baton and struck me in the left upper arm area and began to raise his baton to strike again. I struck him in the jaw, and as he reeled back, turned and fled, turning off of the way to my home, as the officers were in the way. They gave chase, but I had somewhat of head start, and it was quite dark, so I was able to evade their line of vision for a time. It took me a few moments to find my way back to a road that I recognized. The problem was that they could easily catch me in their mobile command post. I began searching for a hiding place, and the most obvious places were in the row of cars parked along the left hand side of the road. I slowed to a fast walk, trying door handles to see if one were unlocked. I was hoping I could hide inside one of the cars until the polite passed, since I was afraid they found me. Door after door I tried, to no avail. The last Car I tried was an Ambassador cab — I had been particularly hopeful about this car, because it had darkened windows. However, I had apparently chosen a car near Bhogal Marker that was parked next to a guard, or a driver, because someone came out of the shadows shouting. I tried to explain I wanted a hiding place, not to steal a car (after all my home was only five or six blocks away – why would I need a taxi?) But the man was shouting in a language I did not understand, and apparently did not understand me, either. His shouts alerted the police, who were already in pursuit, as was mentioned before, and they arrived quickly and surrounded me. Advancing quickly, they began beating me with their batons. In self-defense, I swung at, and connected, with a few of them, but I quickly went down beneath a rain of blows on my head, back, arms, thighs, shins, buttocks and ankles. The beating continued for some time after I had fallen.

They shackled my arms behind my back, so tight that to this date I have drastically reduced sensation in my left thumb. Then they shackled my ankles together and threw me bodily into the back of the mobile command vehicle. Three officers climbed into the rear compartment with me and resumed beating me, this time with their fists. They also slammed my face into the seat and into the floor, which action I was unable to resist, since my hands were shackled behind my back.

After some rime we arrived at what I later learned was the AIIMS Hospital. At the time, however. I was not aware of location, became the officers had continually slammed my head do»n and I was unable to see out of the windows for some time. They threw me from the rear of the truck and I landed on the asphalt hard, without being able to catch myself. Unable to walk, I found the skin being removed from my knees and lower body as the officers hoisted me up by my arms behind my back and dragged me into the hospital entry way. Again, at this point I had no way of knowing where I was; I believed I was in the police station. When a nurse emerged with a hypodermic needle, I began screaming for help and for someone to call the US Embassy. After the officers’ rough treatment of me, I was afraid of what the syringe contained As far as I knew. the woman was an employee of the polite department. No one explained to me in English what was happening. I struggled, the officers held me down, and I finally was forced to be injected by an unknown substance — one that later turned out to be a sedative. When the injection was complete, the officer again picked up my upper body and dragged me across ihe concrete floor and parking lot back lo the truck.

Once inside the truck, the three officers in the rear continued to strike mc in ihe fate and head as we rolled to the police station.

At ihe police station, the officers hauled me out of the rear of the truck and tossed me to the ground, still shackled. I began again streaming for someone to call the US Embassy to report this beating and continued torture. I lay like this for perhaps two hours.

After 15 or 20 minutes of my shouting for help, an officer came out and began kicking me, apparently angered by my calls for help. He did this one or two more times, as I still continued calling for help. After an hour or two had passed, several officers came out and dragged me into the police station, still scraping my lower body across the concrete. They threw me into a holding room with a concrete floor. I lay like this for perhaps a couple of hours, still shouting for someone to call the US Embassy.

Two officers came in two or three times and kicked me while I was lying on the floor, apparently to make me be quiet. In between these instances, they targeted the other person in the room, a young Indian man of perhaps 17 who had been sitting quietly near a table along the wall. One two or three occasion, two officers entered the room, and one held him down on the table while the other beat the soles of his feet with a baton. The young man screamed, but the beating went on and on

I am not sure whethcr this was the same young man I saw being beaten earlier in the morning.

Around 9 a.m., the polite asked for my street address and called for my flatmate to come and get me. At no point during the six or seven hours they had held me did they offer me any food or water. At no point did they offer me the Opportunity make a phone call. At no point until my release did they unshackle me. At no point did they contact the US Embassy, according to the Embassy itself. The police are required to notify the US Embassy the moment a foreigner is arrested.

My flatmate took me to the hospital for treatment. I was covered in blood from head to toe from the police beating. My pants, which were still on me. were torn to shreds, and covered in blood. My shirt had been torn from my body. The hospital staff, concerned about the gaping wound to the side of my head and blood clots in my right eye, combined with the massive bruising across the whole of my body, kept me at AIIMS Hospital for two days and one night. I received five stitches to my eyebrow

Conclusion:
I request a thorough inquiry into the six to seven hours of beating and torture I endured at the hands, feet and batons of Delhi Police. I request that the police officers responsible be removed ftom their positions

Further, I seek $500,000 US dollars in compensation for pain and suffering and mental anguish the Delhi Police inflicted upon me.

Date: October 8, 2009
Time: 4 p.m
Place: New Delhi

India address:
Second floor, N-31 B, Jungpura Extension, New Delhi

Roshan Lal is a Station House Officer (SHO) of Kalyanpuri Police Station. His monthly salary: Rs 40,000. The alleged worth of the assets he amassed in his career spanning over 30 years: Rs 20 crore.

The facts sound disproportionate?

Well, Lal, allegedly, also owns three hotels in Paharganj in Central Delhi, besides a cinema hall in Farukkabad, Uttar Pradesh, and a number of other properties in Delhi and NCR.

These facts came to light after the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) raided his office on Tuesday. The ACB registered a case of amassing assets disproportionate to his income, misconduct, conspiracy and cheating against Lal.

The ACB officials conducted simultaneous searches at his Karol Bagh residence, his office in Kalyanpuri Police Station, the three hotels and the cinema hall in Farukkabad. The team has also seized a bank account.

According to ACB officials Lal allegedly owns three hotels — India International, Silver Shine and Carlo Castle — in the Paharganj area. They added that Lal allegedly registered all these properties in the names of his father, Rajender Lal, and his brother.

“One hotel was registered under the name of his father while the other two were registered under his brother’s name,” said an ACB official on the condition of anonymity, as he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Allegedly, Lal also owns the cinema hall, Laxmi Talkies, in Farukkabad and that he has assets worth around Rs 20 crore, the official said.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police (ACB) of the Delhi Government I.D. Shukla confirmed that charges related to cheating, conspiracy and amassing disproportionate assets had been framed. Shukla declined to divulge any other information, saying the matter was under investigation.

Roshan Lal, meanwhile, said, “I have nothing to do with these properties. These properties are owned by my father and brother.”

When contacted, a top Delhi Police officer on the condition of anonymity, said action would be taken against the officer after the ACB report arrives. The ACB officials who failed to trace Lal in person were unable to question him.

The US-based group Human Rights Watch says India’s policing system facilitates and even encourages abuses. It says there has been little change in attitudes, training or equipment since the police was formed in colonial times with the aim to control the population. It says the government must take major steps to overhaul a failing system.

There was no immediate response from the Indian authorities.

‘Shocking’

The BBC’s Damian Grammaticas in Delhi says the catalogue of abuses by India’s police detailed in this report is long and shocking – arbitrary arrests, beatings and torture to force confessions, even the cold-blooded gunning down of innocent people.

The police are often a law unto themselves, say campaigners

“[M]y hands and legs were tied; a wooden stick was passed through my legs. They started beating me badly on the legs with lathis [batons] and kicking me,” the report quoted a fruit vendor in the city of Varanasi as saying.

“They beat me until I was crying and shouting for help. When I was almost fainting, they stopped the beating… Then they turned me upside down… They poured water from a plastic jug into my mouth and nose, and I fainted,” he said.

Human Rights Watch spent a year investigating claims of human rights violations to compile the 118-page report, entitled “Broken System: Dysfunction, Abuse and Impunity in the Indian Police”.

It says the report is based on interviews with more than 80 police officers of varying ranks, 60 victims of police abuses and numerous discussions with experts and civil society activists.

The report says that “abysmal conditions for police officers contribute to violations”.

Human Rights Watch says it spoke to 80 police officers

Ill-equipped and under pressure to fight crime, police officers often take the law into their own hands, it says.

“Low-ranking officers often work in difficult conditions. They are required to be on-call 24 hours a day, every day. Instead of shifts, many work long hours, sometimes living in tents or filthy barracks at the police station.

“Many are separated from their families for long stretches of time. They often lack necessary equipment, including vehicles, mobile phones, investigative tools and even paper on which to record complaints and make notes.”

Human Rights Watch says that as India has modernised fast, its police have been left behind.

“India is modernising rapidly, but the police continue to use their old methods: abuse and threats,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“It’s time for the government to stop talking about reform and fix the system.”

The authorities require a major overhaul – otherwise the beatings, torture and illegal killings will continue to stain India’s democracy, the report adds.

 

Mumbai: The Maharashtra police, who had highest number of bribery cases registered against them last year, have topped the corruption chart in the state during the first half of the year with 53 cases filed against them.

The police department was followed by employees from the revenue department and the state electricity board in corruption cases.

According to the figures available with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) till June-end, 66 policemen were caught red-handed by the ACB while accepting bribe. Three ‘mediators’ were held for aiding the police.

Similarly, 46 revenue department employees and their six associates were caught in 41 traps laid by the ACB.

While 18 employees of Maharashtra State Electricity Board and one mediator were arrested in 15 bribery cases. “We are doing our best to eradicate corruption. We are taking serious note of complaints and laying traps to nab corrupt employees,” additional police commissioner Niket Kaushik said while refusing to draw any conclusion based on the statistics.

A total 119 policemen were arrested in 93 cases registered against them in 2008,followed by employees from the revenue department and civic bodies. Most of those arrested on charges of corruption from the police department were class III employees.

“Class III employees generally come in direct contact with common man. When they demand money, the victim makes complaints after which we trap them,” observed a police officer of ACB.

The officer said that one should not conclude that the corruption is more in police department based on the data. “Corruption may be more in other departments also. The victims might not be complaining in many cases,” the officerobserved.

Lawyer YP Singh, who resigned after nearly 20 years in the Indian Police Service citing corruption in the force, says corruption is rampant in the entire system. “The data does not reflect the exact picture,” said Singh, who is directing a movie based on his book Carnage by Angels, in which he portrayed a police officer getting his lessons in corruption from a constable.

“When both, the giver and the taker, are beneficiaries, then nobody complains. This happens in several departments,” he said.

Of the 46 Revenue Department employees arrested on corruption charges, one of class IV, 38 were of class III employees, two of class II and five of class I officers.

If there were not evidence enough, look at this. One place where the fitness factor is most critical but  is often ignored  is  our police force. The police force in Karnataka, Chandigarh, Maharastra, and Punjab at the very least seem to have problems with fitness, obesity and alcoholism though I am sure these state polices are by no means the exception. In fact, we of late have become so fixated with the odd, glamorous encounter specialist that we seem to have forgotten that the fat, obese policeman armed with a stick and huffing after the culprit who has been caricatured plenty of time before I countless Hindi films is really the norm. This is even other wise a common enough sight in urban policing.

Indian Police Brutality; The So Called “World Largest Democracy”.