SRINAGAR: A court here on Saturday rejected the bail pleas of eight police personnel arrested by the CBI for allegedly torturing a constable in custody two years ago.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Srinagar, Aadil Mushtaq Ahmad, dismissed the applications filed by Deputy Superintendent of Police Aijaz Ahmad Naik, Inspector Riyaz Ahmad Mir, and six other officers — Tanveer Ahmad Malla, Altaf Hussain Bhat, Mohammad Younis Khan, Shakir Hussain Khoja, Shahnawaz Ahmad Deedad, and Jehangir Ahmad Beigh.
The accused had sought bail in the case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) concerning allegations of custodial torture and grievous bodily injuries inflicted on Constable Khursheed Ahmed Chowhan during his alleged illegal detention at the Joint Interrogation Centre in Kupwara in February 2023. Their arrest was made on the orders of the Supreme Court.
“The court is of the considered opinion that none of the applications demonstrate any exceptional circumstances warranting departure from the established principle that bail is generally not granted in serious custodial violence cases at the investigative stage,” the judge said in a single order covering all three applications.
He further noted that, as a sessions-triable, non-bailable case involving serious offences, the court’s jurisdiction is limited. “However, the prosecution has convincingly shown that custodial supervision is necessary to prevent interference or intimidation,” the order added.
