By IANS
Patna : A National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) team Monday began a probe into the brutal torture by police of an alleged chain-snatcher in Bhagalpur district last week.
The two-member NHRC team from New Delhi arrived in Nathnagar in Bhagalpur Sunday.
They are probing the Aug 27 incident when a man, Aurangzeb alias Saleem, in his early 20s, was thrashed and brutally tortured by police at Nathnagar. TV footage showed a cop dragging him through the street tied to the back of a motorcycle, triggering national outrage. The man was hospitalised in a critical condition and has recovered since.
“The NHRC team visited the police station at Nathnagar and urged locals to appear before them and submit information about the incident,” police officials said.
The NHRC team will camp in Bhagalpur till Sep 6. “It will hold talks with the Bhagalpur district administration officials, policemen, locals and also the victim for preparing the report,” a senior official said.
Last week, after taking suo motu cognisance of the incident, the NHRC issued notice to the Bihar home department to produce a report on the incident. The commission viewed the incident as a serious violation of human rights by the policemen.
The incident triggered protests and violent clashes in Nathnagar last Tuesday with an angry crowd throwing stones at a police station following rumours that the man had died due to the torture. Some anti-socials tried to give a communal twist to the incident, but the local administration controlled the situation.
The two policemen, Ramchandra Rai and L.B. Singh, have been dismissed from service and face criminal charges.