6 Chittoor cops transferred over torture, sexual abuse allegations

Chittoor: Chittoor district police transferred six policemen and registered a case to investigate allegations of torture and sexual harassment levelled against them by five women from Tamil Nadu who were part of a gang of eight people booked for crimes related to property offences, police said on Wednesday.

On June 15, police arrested the eight accused but released six of them, including the five women, on humanitarian grounds, as they were involved in only one case earlier, invoking 41 A CrPc (appearance before a police officer).

Property offences may include theft, extortion, robbery and dacoity, criminal misappropriation of property, criminal breach of trust, receiving stolen property, cheating, and fraudulent deed and disposition of property.

“The other two, who are repeat offenders, with one of them having 30-odd cases against him, have been arrested in lieu of three grave property offences in the district under Chittoor I Town Puthalapattu police station,” said Chittoor district superintendent of police Y Rishant Reddy on Wednesday.

According to Reddy, the six persons who were let off in the presence of their lawyers did not make any allegations of torture or sexual harassment against the police and their statements were also videographed.

Meanwhile, during the time they were apprehended and released by AP police, a case was filed in Tamil Nadu’s Krishnagiri district that these women were missing. To clarify about this missing case, the five women appeared at that women’s police station and said that they were let off after being served with 41 A CrPc notice.

At the time too, they complained of no torture or sexual abuse, said Reddy. They also appeared before police and revenue officials in Krishnagiri district on June 16, gave their statements and went back home to Puliandipatti located within the limits of Mathur police station in the district.

However, on June 17, the five women travelled to Krishnagiri district headquarters, admitted themselves to a hospital and alleged that they were tortured and sexually abused, said the SP. Basing on these allegations, the Chittoor SP said, a case has been registered and the six accused policemen have been transferred to enable an unbiased probe.

A case has been registered under IPC Section 376 (punishment for sexual assault) to investigate the allegations, which will be supervised by an additional SP (ASP) rank officer, he added. Police have also invoked the SC/ST Atrocities Act as the eight persons belong to the Kuruba tribe.

Speaking about one of the two arrested persons, Reddy said he had been absconding from the Tamil Nadu police for the past four years and has nine non-bailable warrants and several property offences cases against him.