A sub-inspector in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, has been suspended for allegedly altering a woman's testimony by inserting the word 'not' into her statement. This manipulation falsely claimed that her elopement was 'without consent,' resulting in her lover's arrest.
Details of the Incident
The officer, identified as SI Sanjeev Kumar, was apparently acting 'as per instructions of senior officers in elopement cases involving minors,' according to sources. However, the case involved two adults in their 20s. SP (rural) Bhaware Deeksha Arun confirmed that the SI was found guilty in a court-ordered probe.
The tampering involved overwriting the word 'not' in the woman's written statement, contradicting her video testimony where she clearly stated she had eloped willingly. The original statement read 'I did go of my own will,' but was altered to 'I did not go of my own will.'
Police Response and Investigation
'The SI might have misunderstood instructions of senior officers and thought that every accused who eloped with a girl must be jailed. The direction was merely for cases involving minor victims as their consent doesn't count. However, we are probing the role of the SHO and the SI who wrote the statement,' said the SP.
The SHO concerned, Rajeev Tomar, told TOI that he was not aware of what had happened. When the girl's lover was presented before court for police remand, the court refused.
Background of the Case
The woman from an area under Jalalabad police station had eloped with the man of her own will. Both are in their 20s. Police later traced them to Khatu Shyam in Rajasthan and brought them back to Uttar Pradesh.
The woman was presented before the court of additional chief judicial magistrate Manish Kumar Singh on April 16. Her written statement, produced before the magistrate, was found tampered with, following which the magistrate ordered the production of video evidence in which she clearly said she had eloped with her consent.
