<p>More than the heinous crime, the method adopted by the police to identify the men who committed it has stirred public opinion. Thane police called over a hundred men to the police station and stripped them naked to search for any struggle marks on their body to identify the rapist.<br /><br />The body of the girl was found dumped in a drain at Bhayandar on June 13, which prompted the Thane police, under the new Superintendent of Police Vishwas Nagre Patil of 26/11 fame, to launch an intensive search for the rapist. The strip-search did not show struggle marks on anyone, but police found the victim's blood stained undergarments in a locked house during the combing operation.<br /><br />The house belonged to one Prakash Kevat who was then arrested after he returned home from work. The suspect has been remanded in police custody till June 23 by a local court. Justifying the strip-search, Nagre Patil said it was done to investigate the case and he strenuously denied any violation of human rights.<br /><br />“We combed the entire area. We stripped over 100 men to find out if any of them had scratch marks on their bodies. However, there has been no human rights violation,” Patil claimed.<br /><br />Nagre Patil had busted rave parties when he was SP of Pune district. Later, as the DCP of South Mumbai, he led a small team of brave policemen to Taj Mahal hotel on the night of 26/11 terror attacks, and fought with terrorists till the arrival of Marine Commandos.<br /><br />His timely action in Taj hotel saved many lives. He was recently transferred as the SP of Thane district. The police action of strip-search has drawn protests from human rights activists and lawyers.<br /><br />According to a criminal lawyer Sushan Kunjuraman, police had breeched the rights of the men by asking them to strip. “This is a clear case of human rights violation. If the police suspected any person of involvement, they should have taken him into custody and interrogated him,” he said.<br /><br />Human rights activist P S Sebastian said there is no law that authorises the police to strip people. “This is totally unlawful and violation of human rights. Action should be taken against the police officials responsible for this,” Sebastian said.</p>
<p>More than the heinous crime, the method adopted by the police to identify the men who committed it has stirred public opinion. Thane police called over a hundred men to the police station and stripped them naked to search for any struggle marks on their body to identify the rapist.<br /><br />The body of the girl was found dumped in a drain at Bhayandar on June 13, which prompted the Thane police, under the new Superintendent of Police Vishwas Nagre Patil of 26/11 fame, to launch an intensive search for the rapist. The strip-search did not show struggle marks on anyone, but police found the victim's blood stained undergarments in a locked house during the combing operation.<br /><br />The house belonged to one Prakash Kevat who was then arrested after he returned home from work. The suspect has been remanded in police custody till June 23 by a local court. Justifying the strip-search, Nagre Patil said it was done to investigate the case and he strenuously denied any violation of human rights.<br /><br />“We combed the entire area. We stripped over 100 men to find out if any of them had scratch marks on their bodies. However, there has been no human rights violation,” Patil claimed.<br /><br />Nagre Patil had busted rave parties when he was SP of Pune district. Later, as the DCP of South Mumbai, he led a small team of brave policemen to Taj Mahal hotel on the night of 26/11 terror attacks, and fought with terrorists till the arrival of Marine Commandos.<br /><br />His timely action in Taj hotel saved many lives. He was recently transferred as the SP of Thane district. The police action of strip-search has drawn protests from human rights activists and lawyers.<br /><br />According to a criminal lawyer Sushan Kunjuraman, police had breeched the rights of the men by asking them to strip. “This is a clear case of human rights violation. If the police suspected any person of involvement, they should have taken him into custody and interrogated him,” he said.<br /><br />Human rights activist P S Sebastian said there is no law that authorises the police to strip people. “This is totally unlawful and violation of human rights. Action should be taken against the police officials responsible for this,” Sebastian said.</p>
