11 September,2026 10:46 AM IST | Pune | mid-day online correspondent
Representational image. File pic
The Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) has recommended registration of an FIR against senior Pune police officials over allegations of custodial torture, illegal detention and publicly parading minors by tying them to the bonnet of a police vehicle.
The Commission described the alleged incidents as serious violations of human rights and the rule of law. Its full bench, comprising Chairman Justice A M Badar and members Sanjay Kumar and Swapna Joshi, directed Maharashtra's Director General of Police (DGP) to treat the fact-finding inquiry report as an FIR.
The preliminary inquiry was conducted by a three-member committee comprising Special Inspector General of Police Dattatraya Karale, Superintendent of Police Vishwas Pandhare and MSHRC Registrar Vijay Kedar.
The committee's two-part report detailed allegations of custodial violence and psychological abuse involving minors and adults in separate cases.
The report said that on July 21, personnel from Bharti Vidyapeeth police station tied three minors detained in a murder case to the bonnet of a police vehicle using ropes attached to the side mirrors.
The children, classified as "Children in Conflict with Law", were allegedly paraded publicly from the Ambegaon Pathar outpost to the police station. Senior police inspector Mansingh Patil reportedly announced over a loudspeaker that the children were suspects in a murder case.
According to the report, the public parade exposed the minors to relatives of the deceased, who allegedly attempted to assault them.
The inquiry also found allegations that the minors were beaten with fibre batons and bamboo sticks while in custody.
The committee further stated that they were kept in police lockups beyond the statutory limits between July 20 and July 24 before being produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.
The report also referred to a separate incident involving the alleged custodial beating and public humiliation of four adults accused in another case.
The MSHRC said Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar was aware of videos of the incident that had gone viral on the day it occurred. However, the Commission noted that the officers involved were transferred and a show-cause notice concerning withholding of increment was issued.
The Commission observed that Kumar, DCP Milind Mohite and ACP Rahul Aware had failed to take adequate action to protect human rights and had allegedly attempted a "one-sided" inquiry.
As allegations also involved Kumar, who holds the rank of Additional Director General of Police, the MSHRC recommended that the investigation be entrusted to an officer of ADGP rank or above.
"When law enforcement officers weaponise their authority to inflict such treatment on a child, they do not uphold the Rule of Law but utterly dismantle it," the Commission observed.
The MSHRC invoked Section 18(c) of the Protection of Human Rights Act and referred to the Supreme Court's ruling in Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of UP, stressing that registration of an FIR is mandatory when cognisable offences are disclosed. The Commission also pointed to alleged violations of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
(With inputs from PTI)
