Police in dock over arrest of two middle-aged women in Chadoora

Srinagar: Anger has swept across the Chadoora area of Budgam district after cops arrested two middle-aged women and lodged them in an `all-male’ police station overnight. 

Locals said two women Raja Begum and Mugli Begum of Branwar village in the Chadoora area were picked up by the police on Tuesday evening after a minor brawl over the disputed land.

Raja Begum’s son Fayaz Ahmad Hajam alleged that the police team, which detained the women, was not accompanied by any woman police official.  

“My mother and another family member Mugli Begum were both manhandled by the police. They were bundled into a vehicle and taken to the police station  Now, we have heard that an FIR has been registered against them,” he said.

Hajam said both the women have spent a night inside the police custody without being allowed to meet the family members. “We are very much worried. Both the women are middle-aged and suffer from various ailments,” he said.

Abdul Gani, a resident of the village said the police have not set them free despite repeated pleas by the family and the villagers.

“How can police lodge both these women in a police station, which is dominated by men? The police registered FIR against both the women. We are applying for bail of both the women,” he said.

Police said they have directed the Budgam police to look into the issue.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Budgam, Amod Nagpure, however, claimed they have followed proper legal procedures during the arrest of the women.

“They were arrested in a case of theft and house trespassing. We have registered FIR no 158 2020 of Police Station Chadoora. A proper legal procedure has been followed. Women officials are deputed in the police station,” he said.

Experts said the detention of the women has been against the Supreme Court ruling. “An SC ruling said that women cannot be arrested after sunset and before sunrise. In case the woman has committed a serious crime, the police require to get it in writing from the magistrate explaining why the arrest is necessary during the night,” tweeted RTI activist Raja Muzaffar Bhat.