‘Whistle-blower’ CRPF officer seeks probe into ‘mistreatment’ of protesters | India News
NEW DELHI: A serving CRPF officer posted in Manipur has approached National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), National Commission for Women (NCW) and Delhi Police commissioner, seeking an impartial enquiry into three videos circulated on social media, where certain CAPF and police personnel appear to be “physically mistreating” women protesting against SIR and CEC Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi.CRPF assistant commandant Rahul Solanki, who has a history of playing vigilante and whistle-blower, having alleged poor living conditions of CRPF personnel deployed in Jharkhand for 2019 assembly poll and more recently claiming “unauthorised sale” of track suits at CRPF group centre in Greater Noida, clarified in his letter that he was submitting the complaint “in my individual capacity as a concerned citizen of India, committed to the rule of law, and the dignity and safety of women”.Sharing three video links that form the basis of his complaint dated Oct 11, he requested an impartial probe and forensic verification of the incident and the circumstances. He added a disclaimer, saying the videos were obtained by him strictly for verification purposes and had not been authenticated. Solanki insisted that he was not endorsing the views and statements of any individuals or organisations behind the videos.Seeking any genuine misconduct on part of the police/CAPF personnel to be addressed fairly, he said in case the allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards women protesters are substantiated, appropriate legal and departmental action may follow against the personnel and their supervisors. Alternatively, if the footage is found to be fabricated or manipulated, legal action and removal of the misleading content, should be pursued as per law.
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He also requested gender sensitivity training for police personnel on the ground.A CRPF official told TOI that Solanki’s act of directly approaching the rights watchdogs and Delhi Police against the conduct of CAPF/police officers, rather than raise the matter with his superiors, may be viewed as indiscipline as service conduct rules bar officers from filing public complaints against govt officers/depts. “The officer concerned was not even on the ground (where protests were held). If he was concerned, he would have raised the matter internally with his superiors,” said an officer. The officer hinted that Solanki could face departmental proceedings over violation of conduct rules.
