Pune women allege police harassment, casteist slurs during missing person probe

Three Pune women alleged police assaulted them and used casteist slurs during a missing person investigation. Rohit Pawar has sought action under the SC/ST Atrocities Act. Police have denied the allegations, citing no evidence in preliminary inquiry

Pune: Three women living in Pune have alleged that police personnel physically harassed them and made casteist remarks during a probe related to a woman, reported missing from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, who stayed with them briefly.

Following the allegations, political parties, including the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), have demanded action against the concerned officers and personnel from the Kothrud police station.

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NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar accompanied the three women and a few activists to the Pune Police Commissionerate on Sunday night, and met Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Ranjan Kumar Sharma and sought registration of an offence against the police personnel under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The Pune police have, however, refuted the claims made by the three women. According to activists, personnel from the Kothrud and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar police stations barged into the rented accommodation of the three women on Friday while investigating a missing person’s complaint regarding a woman who had stayed with them.

One of the activists alleged that the police conducted the search without a warrant and took the trio to the police station. “The police team, including a woman officer, allegedly assaulted the women and made casteist remarks, including some with sexual overtones. They were released after several hours,” she said.

The three women later approached the police station, seeking an offence against the police personnel involved. Speaking to the media, Pawar on Sunday said, “A woman from Marathwada came to Pune to fight for justice in a family matter and stayed with her friend in Kothrud. The police conducted an inquiry without a warrant and made casteist remarks during the process.”

“Strict action must be taken against the police officers involved. Both the young woman’s case and the incident of casteist remarks are serious issues. Despite the nature of these allegations, the police have not registered a complaint. This reflects negligence on the part of the police administration,” he added.

Meanwhile, the police have denied all allegations made by the three women.”A preliminary investigation suggests that the allegations are not substantiated. Hence, a case under the relevant sections of the Atrocities Act cannot be made out,” stated a letter issued by Kothrud police station to the women.