Student framed as opium smuggler for ₹12 lakh in Mandsaur:Family says, ‘Police beat him for 6 hours and threatened to ruin his life’

Alleging custodial torture and extortion, Khartaram, a resident of Jodhpur, has accused the Malhargarh police station in Mandsaur of falsely implicating his brother Sohanlal in a 2.7 kg opium smuggling case. He claims the police demanded Rs 12 lakh from the family and, when the amount was not paid, produced Sohanlal in court and sent him to jail. With both pain and anger in his voice, he said, The police locked my brother in an unknown room for 6 hours and beat him like an animal. They were shouting, Arrange for 1.2 million rupees, otherwise we will apply such sections that you will rot in jail for your entire life. If there hadn’t been a camera on that bus, my brother would still be behind bars today. We might have forgotten him, thinking he was a terrorist or a smuggler. The family moved the High Court for bail and submitted CCTV footage from the bus as evidence. Based on this, the court granted bail to Sohanlal and summoned Mandsaur SP Vinod Meena for a response. Following the court’s directions, the SP suspended the accused police personnel and ordered an inquiry. Bhaskar spoke to Sohanlal and his brother Khartaram to understand what exactly happened that day. Read the full report.
6 hours of brutality
When the family met Sohan in jail, the ordeal he narrated was no less than a movie story. Sohan said, Around 11:30 AM, they took me off the bus and led me to a private room. There, I was brutally beaten. They threatened that if I wanted to survive, I should arrange 12 lakh rupees. If I didn’t, they would file a case against me under the NDPS Act for possessing a commercial quantity of opium, for which there would be no bail. I am a student. Where would I get so much money from? When I said I couldn’t pay the money, they beat me more and took me to Malhargarh police station at 5 PM, where they filed a false case against me. CCTV footage brought justice System’s apathy and long 3-month wait
As soon as the video came into his hands, Khartaram felt that he would now get justice. He took the evidence and first went to the SP of his home district, Balotra, but he refused to help, stating that it was outside his jurisdiction. Subsequently, on September 12, Khartaram sent a detailed complaint with screenshots of the video via speed post to the Chief Secretary, DGP, and IG of Madhya Pradesh, but weeks and then months passed, and no response came from anywhere. How did the police’s web of lies break in court? With all other options exhausted, the family approached the court, where Indore High Court lawyer Himanshu Thakur took up the case. Advocate Thakur said, ‘The police had already submitted their charge sheet in court, which became our biggest advantage, as they could no longer back out of their version.’ He added that a detailed examination of the charge sheet exposed serious inconsistencies, revealing the police’s false claims. In the face of strong evidence, the police version collapsed. The court strongly reprimanded the police and summoned Mandsaur SP Vinod Meena, who admitted that the people seen in the video were policemen from Malhargarh police station. Following this, six policemen, including the TI, were suspended. Sohanlal in depression after being released from jail
After just one week of hearing, on December 5, the court acquitted Sohan of all charges. Khartaram says, I am grateful to God that there was a camera in that local bus. That one video saved my brother’s life, otherwise he would have rotted in jail for the rest of his life. Sohan is in deep depression after coming out of jail. His dream of becoming an administrative officer is shattered. He is trying to forget that dreadful day and return to the mainstream.