Court orders FIR against top cop, DCP, inspector over delay in sex CD case

A city court has directed the Cubbon Park police to register an FIR against Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant, DCP (Central) M N Anucheth and Cubbon Park police station inspector B Maruti.

The eighth additional chief metropolitan magistrate passed the order on Tuesday on a private complaint, which said the police officers were responsible for the delay in registering an FIR on the complaint filed by social activist Dinesh Kallahalli against the then minister Ramesh Jarkiholi on March 2, 2021.

Adarsh R Iyer, co-president of Janaadhikaara Sangharsha Parishath, had approached the Cubbon Park police with a complaint against the police officers on March 17, 2021, and followed it up with a representation to the DCP (Central) on April 1, 2021.

He filed a private complaint before the magistrate court when the police did not take action. The complaint stated that the officers have to be booked under Section 166A of IPC for the delay in registering the FIR in the case.

"At present, the allegations in the private complaint would disclose the commission of the cognisable offence. The complaint is referred to SHO (Station House Officer) of Cubbon Park Police Station for investigation against the accused under Section 156 (3) of CrPC,” the magistrate court said in the order.

Officers move HC

Meanwhile, the three police officers approached the high court on Wednesday, seeking the quashing of the magistrate court's order. Their counsel said the petition might come up for hearing on Thursday.

The police officers' petition argues that Kallahalli's complaint did not disclose the commission of a cognisable offence against anybody and it was "bald and vague". They said Kallahalli’s complaint was treated as a petition for a preliminary enquiry by the police inspector of Cubbon Park police station.

It could be recalled that Kallahalli had lodged the complaint against the then minister Ramesh Jarkiholi on March 2, 2021, and again filed a revised complaint on March 7, 2021. The police commissioner constituted an SIT on March 11 and subsequently, FIRs were registered on behalf of Ramesh Jarkiholi (Sadashivanagar police station) and the victim woman (Cubbon Park police station). The petitioners claimed that they have acted upon the complaint given by Kallahalli in accordance with the directions issued in apex court’s Lalitha Kumari case.