Indore (Madhya Pradesh): An 18-year-old student was kidnapped from a bus by policemen dressed in casual clothes and later falsely shown as a drug smuggler in Mandsaur.
CCTV and mobile videos showed that there were no drugs, no chase, and no seizure. They only showed policemen stopping the bus and taking the student away.
Watch the video below :
According to a news article by NDTV, the student, Sohan from Malhargarh, was travelling on August 29 when a police team suddenly stopped the bus, pulled him out, and took him away.
However, just a few hours later, Malhargarh police announced a “big drug arrest,” claiming that Sohan had been caught with 2.7 kg of opium. He was produced in court the next day and sent to jail.
His family approached the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on December 5, saying the arrest was fake and that the student had been kidnapped and framed.
According to the information shared in court, Mandsaur Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar Meena admitted that Sohan was indeed taken from the bus by Malhargarh police officers.
He told the High Court that the FIR does not match the actual location and time seen in the video evidence, and that the investigation was not carried out according to legal rules.
He also confirmed that the officers involved, whom the police had earlier denied knowing, were in fact from the Malhargarh police station.
Meena told the court that six policemen have been suspended, including the head constable who led the operation, and a departmental inquiry is underway. He also confirmed that the case was registered after the student was already in illegal police custody.
The High Court has now reserved its order, and strict action is expected.
Senior advocate Himanshu Thakur said the evidence clearly shows that Sohan was illegally taken and linked to drugs. He added that the 18-year-old is a bright student who passed Class 12 in first division.
The incident is a huge embarrassment for Malhargarh police station, which was recently ranked ninth among India’s best police stations.
