Special Court Refers Sakinaka Custodial Torture Case to Principal Sessions Judge
A special MCOCA court in Mumbai has referred a case of alleged custodial torture by Sakinaka police personnel to the principal judge of the sessions court after a medical examination confirmed multiple injuries, including a burn injury to the genitals of an accused.
The accused, Ali Husain Ali Hasan Khan alias Kaddu, was arrested by the Sakinaka police in a case involving violent robbery, house-trespass, causing hurt, criminal intimidation, and conspiracy, with charges invoked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). When produced for remand on Thursday, Khan informed the court that police personnel had subjected him to torture over a period of approximately three days.
During an interaction inside the chambers of Special Judge VD Kedar, Khan alleged that officers assaulted him on multiple parts of his body, targeted his genitalia, and inserted an object into his anal region. He further claimed that police threatened to implicate his family members in false cases to compel a confession. Following the allegations, defence advocate Wahab Khan submitted applications requesting the preservation of medical records and station CCTV footage.
Terming the allegations "serious in nature," Judge Kedar ordered an immediate medical examination at Sir JJ Hospital. The court directed that investigating officers and connected police personnel be barred from the examination room, instructing the medical officer to send the report directly to the court in a sealed cover. The judge also directed the investigating officer to preserve CCTV footage from the Sakinaka police station lock-up, corridors, interrogation room entry and exit points, and transit routes, alongside digital logs, lock-up registers, and escort details.
The medical examination conducted at Sir JJ Hospital documented multiple injuries, including a 6x7 cm burn injury to the scrotum, as well as redness, tenderness, and skin lesions in the genital area. Doctors also noted swelling at the base of both thumbs, across the index fingers of both hands, the left shoulder, and both feet, alongside greenish discolouration around the left heel. An ultrasound and a CT scan of the brain revealed no significant trauma-related abnormalities or fractures, and the findings cited in the order did not record an injury to the anal region.
To protect the accused from intimidation or interference, the court ordered that Khan not be returned to the custody of the investigating team and remanded him to judicial custody until October 12. Forwarding the roznamas, orders, and medical reports to the principal judge under the criminal manual's procedure, Judge Kedar noted that the court was not deciding who caused the injuries or how they were sustained, observing that the matter requires an appropriate investigation in accordance with law.
