Ex-IPS officer held guilty of assault in 2023 case, had recently resigned for UN post

Dehradun,: A former IPS officer, who recently resigned from his job to take up a key position at the United Nations, has been found guilty by the Police Complaints Authority of "stripping, assaulting, and detaining a complainant for a considerable period" while he was serving as the superintendent of police in Pithoragarh district.

The authority has directed the state government to initiate disciplinary action against the accused cop, Lokeshwar Singh, regarding the incident that happened on February 6, 2023.

The authority issued these directions on a complaint filed by Laxmi Dutt Joshi, an RTI activist.

The complainant had alleged that Singh and his subordinates assaulted him on that day, causing him serious injuries, when he tried to complain about sewage overflowing from police quarters onto the road near the Pithoragarh Police Lines.

The authority bench, headed by Justice N S Dhanik, made these recommendations on December 9.

During the hearing of the complaint, Singh denied the allegations, claiming that Joshi is a criminal and was called for questioning on February 6, 2023, in connection with an arson case.

Joshi, a ready-made garment trader and an RTI activist in Pithoragarh, claimed that the former police officer harboured a grudge against him because of an incident that happened in 2021.

Detailing the 2023 incident, Joshi, in his complaint, mentioned that his house is near the Pithoragarh Police Lines and that he had complained to the police about the sewage water from the police quarters flowing openly onto the streets. He said that after no action was taken on his complaint, he went to the SP's office, where Singh became angry upon seeing him and started verbally abusing him.

Joshi said, "Lokeshwar Singh ordered the policemen present there to slap me. My glasses broke from the slaps. After that, the Superintendent of Police made me take off my clothes and then assaulted me." Joshi said that he had filed a complaint against Singh with the authorities and also informed officials from Pithoragarh to Dehradun and Delhi about the matter.

Expressing satisfaction with the authority's decision, Joshi said that during this struggle for justice, his shop had to be closed, he had to sell his house, and his daughter fell ill.

Singh resigned from his job in October this year after being selected for an important position at the United Nations. At that time, he was serving as the Superintendent of Police in Pauri.