Eight Meerut Police Personnel Recalled Following Custodial Torture Allegations

Eight more Meerut police personnel, including Civil Lines SHO, two sub-inspectors and five constables, were recalled to police lines late Friday night after SSP Avinash Pandey was attached to state headquarters in Lucknow over allegations that police tortured a farmer leader and his Dalit associate in custody.

ADG, Meerut zone, Bhanu Bhaskar also ordered a high-level inquiry under DIG, Saharanpur range, Abhishek Singh, who reached Meerut on Friday evening and began the probe. The action followed allegations by farmer leader Digvijay Bhati, president of the BR Ambedkar faction of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) and a Samajwadi Party functionary, and his associate Mohit Jatav that senior officers and Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel assaulted them for hours after they visited the SSP’s office on Wednesday seeking removal of their names from an FIR linked to a July 8 protest.

Bhati, who was hospitalised on Saturday, released video footage showing a badly swollen eye and extensive bruising and alleged, “The SSP repeatedly kicked me in my eyes with his shoes, damaging my eye.” Bhati alleged that after the assault at the SSP’s office, SOG personnel took him and Jatav to an undisclosed location, subjected them to repeated beatings, casteist slurs and degrading treatment, and kept them in custody for close to 12 hours. He named Civil Lines inspector Akhilesh Gaur as having led that phase of the alleged assault, while Jatav said the beatings left his legs swollen and affected his hearing.

Meerut police initially denied the allegations on X and claimed Bhati and Jatav suffered their injuries in a scooter accident after leaving the police station, but deleted the post within hours. The deletion came before the ADG ordered the fast-track inquiry and around the time authorities attached Pandey to Lucknow, deepening scrutiny of how police had handled the two men and their complaints.

Sardhana MLA Atul Pradhan, who said he had personally negotiated the release of Bhati and Jatav from custody past midnight on Wednesday, demanded an FIR against Pandey and his removal from service and said he had not expected a meeting he helped broker to end in violence. After meeting new SSP BBGTS Murthy on Friday, Pradhan said, “Since the SSP is new we met him and apprised him of the facts. We have demanded strict action against the culprits and a strong FIR against them.”

The July 8 Dalit protest had already drawn intervention from Adityanath, who sent a senior minister as his emissary to Lalita Gautam’s family and assured them of justice and a fair investigation into the murder case. The CM later announced action in the matter, following which police diluted the FIR registered against protesters, dropped serious charges and the investigating officer was transferred.