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New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report that a 17-year-old boy was tortured in police custody at Gandhigram police station in Gujarat’s Rajkot district.
The incident came to light more than a month later, on October 6, after a video of the torture surfaced on social media.
According to press reports released on 7 October, in the video a police officer can be seen pulling hair from the boy’s scalp while other officers laugh.
The boy was taken into custody on the night of September 1 in connection with a stabbing incident the day before. The minor and his companions were detained and later produced before a juvenile court, which sent him to a juvenile detention centre.
He was released on bail after about two weeks.
Taking note of the incident, the NHRC observed that the contents of the report, if true, raise serious concerns of violation of the boy’s human rights.
The apex human rights body has issued a notice to Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) seeking a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.
Established under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the NHRC, an autonomous statutory body, embodies India’s concern for the promotion and protection of human rights.
Its primary role is to protect and promote human rights, which are defined as rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of persons guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in international covenants and enforceable by courts in India. The apex human rights body has the power to take suo motu (on its own motion) action based on media reports, public knowledge or other sources, without receiving a formal complaint of human rights violations.
–IANS