LUCKNOW: Nine police personnel, including the Station House Officer (SHO) of Vibhuti Khand police station, Pankaj Kumar Singh, have been booked for allegedly assaulting, robbing, and threatening a group of lawyers inside the station premises on March 14.
According to an FIR filed by Advocate Saurabh Verma, the incident unfolded when he visited the police station after learning that three fellow lawyers—Shivam Pan, Shubham Yadav, and Abhishek Singh—were allegedly being beaten inside.
Upon arrival, Verma claimed he witnessed multiple officers, including Pankaj Kumar Singh, Irfan, Yogendra Singh Sengar, Shubham Tyagi, Anuj Kumar, and Suhail Khan, physically assaulting the detained lawyers. Some of the accused officers reportedly removed their nameplates to hide their identities.
The complaint further alleged that the officers verbally abused the lawyers, mocked their profession, and even looted valuables, including wallets and gold chains, from them. In a shocking claim, Verma stated that officers threatened to force the lawyers to drink urine and even poured urine on some of their faces. The accused personnel also allegedly demanded ₹50,000 from each detained lawyer, threatening to implicate them in false cases if they refused to pay.
The situation escalated when Advocate Rahul Pandey, a junior colleague of Verma, alerted the Central Bar Association President. Several lawyers rushed to the police station, leading to the release of the detained victims.
The FIR also accused the police of deliberately deleting CCTV footage from the station to erase evidence of the incident.
Later that night, outraged lawyers staged a protest at Vibhuti Khand crossing and threatened to escalate the agitation to the police commissioner’s residence. However, senior police officials intervened and assured action, leading to the protest being called off after the FIR was registered.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (East Zone) Pankaj Singh confirmed that an FIR had been filed against SHO Pankaj Kumar Singh, eight other officers, and unidentified personnel under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including:
- 115(2) – Voluntarily causing hurt
- 352 – Intentional insult
- 309(4) – Robbery
- 351(3) – Threats to cause death
- 191(2) – Rioting
“We are thoroughly investigating all allegations,” Singh stated.
