Court orders FIR against 11 UP police personnel for framing jailed man in 2022 robbery case

Already facing criticism over alleged fake encounters, the Uttar Pradesh Police have landed in a fresh controversy after a court found that a man had been falsely shown as an accused in a 2022 robbery case despite being in jail at the time of the incident.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Sambhal (Chandausi) has ordered the registration of an FIR and investigation against 11 police personnel, including the then Station House Officer (SHO) of Bahjoi police station. The court directed the Bahjoi police to register the case and inform the court about the FIR within three days, officials confirmed on Thursday.

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The case pertains to Arjunpur Juna village under the Bahjoi police station. On April 25, 2022, a man named Durvesh was allegedly robbed of cash by two bike-borne assailants while returning home after selling milk. A robbery case was registered, and during the investigation, Omveer was named as an accused and sent to jail.

Omveer later moved an application before the court, stating that he was deliberately framed in a false robbery case as part of a conspiracy. He informed the court that at the time of the incident, he was already lodged in Badaun district jail.

Documents presented before the court confirmed that Omveer was incarcerated in Badaun jail from April 11, 2022, to May 12, 2022, and his presence was officially recorded in jail records on April 25, 2022—the day of the robbery. Based on this evidence, the court observed that his involvement in the crime was prima facie impossible.

After examining the case diary, police reports, and official records, the court held that cognisable offences were made out against the then SHO Pankaj Lavania, Crime Inspector Rahul Chauhan, Sub-Inspectors Prabodh Kumar, Reej Kumar, Jameel Ahmad, and constables Varun, Malti, Ayush, Rajpal, Deepak, and Roopchand. The court ordered that an FIR be registered against them and a detailed investigation be conducted.

However, the then Circle Officer (CO) of Bahjoi, Gopal Singh, was excluded from the probe as no criminal conduct was found against him.

The court also clarified that protection under Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) does not apply to illegal acts committed by public servants, and no prior government sanction is required to prosecute them in such cases.