On Thursday, Nashik police arrested 18 army officers for allegedly vandalising Upnagar police station on January 14, 2015 afternoon. The police station was attacked, ransacked and police personnel were injured by a mob of about 150 men who were stated to be young officers of the army, training at the School of Artillery in Deolali, Nashik.
On Thursday, Nashik police arrested 18 army officers for allegedly vandalising Upnagar police station on January 14, 2015 afternoon. The police station was attacked, ransacked and police personnel were injured by a mob of about 150 men who were stated to be young officers of the army, training at the School of Artillery in Deolali, Nashik.
They pelted stones, broke and damaged police station property, and manhandled police staff including women staff on duty. They had pushed, threatened and locked the police inspector, in-charge of Upnagar police station, Namrata Desai. Three injured police personnel were admitted to Nashik civil hospital.
After the attack, the mob tried to run away. 18 of them were caught by the Deolali camp police and arrested late night. The young officers, mostly Lieutenants in the army, are said to have attacked the police station after one of their officers had a brawl with the staff at Upnagar police station on Tuesday night.
Following the altercation between the police and army men, the police had filed a case against the army officer and had arrested him. The army officer was then released late night. However, angered over the arrest of their mate, the young officers ransacked the police station the next day.
The 18 arrested were produced in front of the JMFC at Nashik Road court and were remanded magisterial custody. Upnagar police had filed a case against 100-150 persons under various sections of the IPC for damage of public property worth Rs 6 lakhs, manhandling police and molesting women police personnel.
Issuing a release on the incident, the Col GS(SD), School of Artillery, Deolali Camp said that episode highlights the necessity of homogeneous police – army relations Giving the army side of the story, the release states the trigger for the unfortunate incident seemed to be ill treatment of an army officer at the hands of the police personnel at Upnagar police station, on Tuesday night.
The release added that the said army officer involved, a resident of Nashik, had gone to Upnagar Police Station, at night on Tuesday, 13 Jan 2015 to meet his maternal uncle who was in the police station in connection with a family dispute. The officer was slapped, abused and locked up by police personnel for improper parking of his motor cycle inspite of his assurances that he would move his vehicle. The officer’s identity card and mobile were snatched by the police personnel and they still went on to frame a case. Meanwhile, the army authorities reached the police station and after lot of persuasion could secure the release of the officer by early morning of January 14.
The release further adds that the army authorities were contemplating to lodge an FIR against the defaulting policemen in the incident, but before they could do so, they learnt that allegedly a group of army personnel being aggrieved with the incident, went to the concerned Police Station where heated arguments led to physical altercation with the police personnel in the afternoon on January 14, 2015. The army states that some army personnel were apprehended by the police later same day, from locations within the cantonment and far away from the scene of the incident like banks, grocery stores, ATMs within Deolali without any evidence whatsoever to prove their culpability.
Some sanity was brought into the police stance after senior persons from Army interacted with senior Police officials and roughing up of apprehended army personnel was stopped. The army personnel have since been handed over to the Army authorities, the release added. The army further highlighted the necessity for homogeneous police – army relations wherein issues of such nature could be resolved in an amicable manner rather than allowing them to go out of hand.
Speaking about the incident, Kulwant Kumar Sarangal, commissioner of police, Nashik said that the police officer did not beat the army officer or his relative who had come to the Upnagar police station on Tuesday night. There is no case filed by the officer or his relative to this effect. “Even if, in case any such thing might have happened, vandalising a police station in no way to react. They should have launched a police complaint about it”, Sarangal said.
Presenting the case in front of the Judicial Magistrate First Class at Nashik Road, police prosecutor asked the court to remand the 18 accused to police custody. Arguing on behalf of the accused, Adv M Y Kale said that there was no need for a police custody remand as asked by the police prosecutor as motorcycles and helmets cannot be considered as weapons. He further appealed to the court “to understand the provocative act behind the incident”. Hearing both the sides, the Judicial Magistrate First Class at Nashik Road granted MCR to the 18 accused.
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