Mumbai: Expressing shock over alleged police apathy in a “horrendous” case where an elderly couple was being mercilessly beaten by their alcoholic son, the Bombay High Court has directed the Dombivli police to visit the victims’ residence and provide them immediate protection.
CCTV Footage Shows Son Assaulting Parents
A bench of Justices Ravindra Ghuge and Gautam Ankhad was hearing a petition filed by the couple’s elder daughter, who said she had installed CCTV cameras inside the house after the abuse became unbearable.
Police Allegedly Ignored Complaints
According to the petitioner, the footage showed her brother kicking and hitting their parents “with shoes until they bled.” She claimed that despite showing the recordings to assistant police inspector Praveen Ghutugade at Dombivli police station, he “hardly reacted”.
She even said that officer even refused to accept the written complaint which she tried to submit on June 16. Hence, she later sent the complaint by post, which was received on June 19.
Despite this, the woman said from that day until August 10, “the beating of the parents has continued unabated, only because the police failed to react to the situation”.
The state’s advocate, on instructions from Ghutugade who was present in the court, denied that the CCTV footage was ever shown to him. However, he said that non-cognisable (NC) complaints were registered on June 25 and July 1, wherein it is recorded that the son physically assaulted his parents and also assaulted the elder sister (Petitioner), when she attempted to rescue them.
“Yet, only an N.C. was registered,” the bench quipped, emphasising that hence the woman had to approach the high court.
HC Directs Officer to File Personal Affidavit
Noting that since the prosecutor was instructed by the officer “to deny that the CCTV footage was shown to him (officer) or that he was aware of the old couple being beaten”, the HC has directed the officer to file his personal affidavit on or before August 16.
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Immediate Protection Ordered by Court
In the meanwhile, the court has ordered, “lady constables, accompanied by male constables, shall visit the petitioner’s premises and share their cell phone numbers with her to enable contact in case of an emergency.” The matter will be heard next on August 19.
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