The Madras High Court has stayed the trial in four custodial torture cases against IPS Officer Balveer Singh – a 2020 batch officer.
Justice Shamim Ahmed granted interim stay in a plea filed by the officer seeking to set aside the Judicial Magistrate order framing charges against him in four custodial torture cases, while he was holding the post of Assistant Superintendent of Police, Ambasamudram.
Action against drug peddlers
In his plea, Singh claimed that the Ambasamudram area was highly prone to animosities between different sections of the society on caste lines and that he always had to deal with law and order issues. He also submitted that they also had constant problems with drug peddlers who transported Ganja from outside the state and made youth and students addicted to it.
Singh submitted that while holding the position, he had dealt with the rowdies and antisocial elements to safeguard the public. He stated that because of his stern actions, the antisocial elements started levelling false allegations against him and started making baseless allegations against him.
Balveer Singh claims all allegations baseless media propaganda
He submitted that based on the baseless allegations, a complaint was registered and following “media propaganda”, the cases were eventually transferred to the CB CID. He also submitted that other complainants exploited the situation and made false complaints during the high level enquiry by an IAS officer.
He submitted that after investigation, the prosecution filed a final report in the trial court with conflicting versions, contradictions and fallacies. He added that the trial court also proceeded mechanically and ordered him to stand trial for the offences.
He submitted that at the time of framing charges, the trial court erred in framing charges in Tamil language, not taking note of the fact that it was not Singh's language, thus violating Section 281 (4) of the CrPC. He submitted that the trial court should have supplied a translated copy of the witness statements before framing charges against Singh.
Who is Balveer Singh
Balveer Singh is a young police officer, who belongs to Rajasthan‘s Tonk district. He has done mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai.
Singh was inducted into the IPS in 2020. He had earlier completed a six-year stint with the Indian Oil Corporation.
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