Arrest memo sans recorded time is authentic: High Court
Kolkata: Asking the Director General & Inspector General of Police, West Bengal to initiate disciplinary proceeding against the investigating officer (IO) for screening a Detective Department (DD) officer whose Belghoria residence was used for sex racket using minors, the Calcutta High Court, upholding conviction and sentence of the accused, observed that omission to record the time is a minor error which does not affect the authenticity of an arrest memo.
The bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Gaurang Kanth was moved by the two appellants, Shonamoni Shaw and Chandan Biswas, convicted and sentenced under sections of IPC, Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act and POCSO Act.
A CID team raided a flat at Belghoria. One person was sent to the house as a decoy customer who later signalled the rest. Three minor girls were rescued from the flat. Five other persons were detained. The minors told the police that Chandan and his wife owned that flat which belonged to one Utpal Ghosh, a police officer who was with the Detective Department. Sonamoni was the trafficker who brought them there for sex work. The other accused persons were pimps.
The defence counsels contended the birth certificates of two minor victims were neither seized during investigation nor were verified by police. Further, the arrest memos of the appellants and other accused do not bear the time of arrest nor are they signed by any witness save and except the arrest memo of Sonamoni.
Since the both victims were minors, as seen from their birth certificates issued by municipalities, the court regarded as irrelevant the argument that they voluntarily participated in sex work.
Court observed that defence didn’t produce any alibi for Sonamoni that she was not arrested from the flat. Arrest memos of others showed they were all booked from the place of occurrence. Omission to record time doesn’t affect the authenticity of the document, the court observed.
The court said the owner of the flat, the police officer, was screened by the IO of the case from criminal prosecution on the strength of a fake tenancy document. Hence, disciplinary proceedings must be initiated against her.
