Jammu Court Questions Police Inaction in Election Officer Assault Case
A Jammu court has taken serious note of police inaction against a suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police accused of assaulting a Block Development Officer during election duty. The court has demanded an explanation from the Station House Officer of Gandhi Nagar police station for failing to register an FIR in the case.
City Judge Ghulam Murtaza issued the notice on Monday, asking the SHO to submit a detailed status report explaining the failure to register a First Information Report against suspended DySP Sunil Singh Jasrotia, his Personal Security Officers and other accompanying police personnel.
Legal Battle Over FIR Registration
Senior advocate Aseem Kumar Sawhney, representing the complainant, argued that the police refusal to register an FIR violated mandatory Supreme Court directives. The Supreme Court has made FIR registration compulsory in cognizable offences when a complaint is filed along with a sworn affidavit by the complainant - conditions that were fully met in this case.
The court's intervention came after BDO Azhar Khan, a Kashmir Administrative Officer, approached the judicial system seeking justice. Despite submitting written complaints to both the Gandhi Nagar SHO and the Senior Superintendent of Police in Jammu, no formal case had been registered against the accused police officer.
Violent Confrontation During Election Duty
The incident occurred on November 10 at approximately 12:10 PM during crucial election preparations for the Nagrota Assembly Constituency by-election scheduled for November 11. Azhar Khan had been officially appointed as the Nodal Officer for transportation for the 77-Nagrota Assembly Constituency by-election.
According to the detailed complaint, Khan and his team were inspecting transport routes near the distribution centre in Nagrota when they were involved in a minor road accident. The situation escalated dramatically when DySP Sunil Jasrotia arrived at the scene.
Despite repeated identification and verification of Khan's official election duty status under written orders, the police officer allegedly began shouting, abusing, intimidating and defaming the BDO. The confrontation turned physical when Jasrotia reportedly began slapping and kicking Khan in full public view, causing both physical injuries and public humiliation.
Illegal Detention and Caste-Based Abuse
The complaint details further disturbing allegations. DySP Jasrotia, along with his PSOs and other police personnel, forcibly took Khan in a police vehicle to the police station, where he was wrongfully confined, further beaten, abused and threatened with dire consequences.
Khan's colleague, Abbas Ali, who was part of the transportation team, was also allegedly manhandled and assaulted during the incident. Both officials reported being subjected to caste-based insults linked to their Gujjar identity, adding another serious dimension to the case.
Their mobile phones were allegedly seized, preventing them from performing their official election duties during this critical pre-election period. The complainant has stated that the entire incident was captured on CCTV footage, which he has requested authorities to preserve and examine as evidence.
Public Outcry and Police Response
The case gained public attention after a video clip of the November 10 incident went viral on social media platforms. The widespread circulation of the visual evidence prompted police authorities to take disciplinary action, resulting in DySP Sunil Singh Jasrotia being suspended pending a formal inquiry.
However, the suspension alone hasn't satisfied legal requirements, as the non-registration of an FIR remains a contentious issue before the court. The judicial intervention highlights the ongoing tension between police procedure and judicial oversight in cases involving law enforcement officials.
The court has given the Gandhi Nagar SHO a specific timeframe to submit the detailed status report explaining the police department's position on why no FIR was registered despite the serious nature of the allegations and the compliance with Supreme Court guidelines.
