The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) strongly criticized the Delhi Police, alleging targeted harassment of Nadeem Khan, a prominent human rights activist and National General Secretary of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR).
In a statement, PUCL said Khan was subjected to coercion and intimidation by police officers at a private residence in Bangalore on November 30. According to the group, four officers, including the Station House Officer (SHO) from Shaheen Bagh police station in Delhi, arrived at the residence without a warrant or prior notice.
They reportedly pressured Khan to accompany them to Delhi “voluntarily” for questioning related to an FIR filed earlier the same day.
“The said FIR was filed at 12:48 PM in Delhi and the concerned Police Station officer arrived in Bangalore at Nadeem’s brother’s house at 5pm, as if in hot haste, without first bothering to issue notice under Section 35(3), or having any authority in the form of an arrest warrant to come to his house and to demand that he return to Delhi with them. It was only at 10.45, after 5.45 hours of badgering Nadeem, that the officials pasted a notice under Section 35(3) of BNSS, asking him to appear at the Shaheen Bagh Police Station.”
“Despite lacking a warrant and without following legal procedures, the police spent nearly six hours at the residence, coercing and intimidating Mr Khan and his family,” PUCL said.
The alleged harassment follows a series of incidents targeting APCR and its members. On November 29, PUCL claims, around 20-25 police officials visited the APCR office in Delhi without providing legal justification. A subsequent visit by police the following morning reportedly involved threats and refusal to disclose details of the investigation to lawyers present at the office.
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