Mumbai: A policewoman accused in the custodial death case of Agnelo Valdaris in 2014, has sought a clean chit from the case through a plea this week before a sessions court and said that she was busy in bandobast duty for 2014 general elections at the time of the alleged incident.
Archana Poojari, a Dadar resident was an assistant police inspector and was posted at Wadala railway station at the time of the offence. As per the complaint of Leonard Valdaris, the father of Mr. Agnelo, the 25-year-old was taken into custody along with two men and a minor in connection with a robbery in local train. They were allegedly assaulted, sexually abused and Mr. Agnelo allegedly died in police custody.
The police, however, claim that he had escaped from custody and died in a train accident. Ms. Poojari is among six police persons accused in the offence. It is alleged that she slapped one of the detainees and made false entries in her weekly diary about their arrest.
“The applicant is a public servant, not a criminal-minded person. But the other side has criminal minded and criminal background," she said in her application.
She said further in her plea that she had not issued any order to arrest the persons and that there is no evidence that she had instructed the staff to use third degree methods. There is no evidence of her being involved in any conspiracy to attract that charge either, she said and contended that the charge cannot be made only on the basis of her presence on duty at the time.
