Prayagraj: On August 7, Puramufti police picked up Mukesh Pasi from the busy market of Faizpur in Vaishkanti village of Karari police station in Kaushambi, due to which the people of the market surrounded the police. When the police introduced themselves, they took him away in a four-wheeler. Mukesh Pasi, a resident of Vaishkanti village (Karari police station, district Kaushambi), his brother Pirthi and another Greesh, who have been jailed many times in Chitrakoot and Kaushambi districts, are once again the target of police action. The family alleges that with the help of information from opponents in the village and the connivance of the police, both the brothers are being repeatedly implicated in false theft cases and sent to jail.

According to the family, on August 7 at around 6 pm, Puramufti police picked up Mukesh from Faizipur market without any notice or formal arrest procedure. The next day at 12 midnight, showing an “encounter” near Kusua railway crossing, the police claimed that Mukesh was injured by a bullet in his leg. He was admitted to SRN Hospital. The police say that a stolen bike, a 315 bore pistol and cartridges were recovered from the spot, while the family claims that the arrest had already been made, so the story of recovery is fabricated.

The family alleges that the police pick up Mukesh and his brother from anywhere they want, without any prior information or legal formalities, at the behest of their informers. There are about 5-6 people in the village with whom Mukesh and his family have old enmity, and these people work to implicate them in theft cases. The family also alleged that the police violate Section 35 (C) of the BNS – at the time of arrest, the arrest memo is not filled on the spot and later makes a fake disclosure by showing an encounter in some other incident.

The family alleges that after taking them into custody, the police beat up Mukesh and his brother badly, exerted mental and physical pressure on them to force them to confess. After this, they patted their backs by showing “successful disclosure” in the incidents related to these, while the real culprits remain out of the reach of the police.

Mukesh’s brother Pirthi and Greesh were arrested by the police near Tejmati Hospital in Babura on 9 August at 10 pm. The family fears that he will also be implicated in a new theft case and sent to jail. In the last several years, several cases have been registered against these two brothers – several in Chitrakoot, one in West Sarira and now a new case in Puramufti. After spending about 2-3 years in jail, Mukesh came out a few months ago and was supporting the family by opening a grocery shop. But the family says that he is still a criminal in the eyes of the police. Mukesh’s wife says that on 28 July, she had given a written complaint letter and IGRS to SP Kaushambi demanding a fair investigation. Despite this, a few days later, this story of an encounter was made up. The family has now sent a letter to the higher officials demanding a high-level investigation into the alleged fake encounters, false theft cases and incidents of assault in custody, so that they can get justice and this cycle of repeatedly sending them to jail ends.