Was slapped 8-10 times by officer, says Arun Ferreira

Mumbai: Activist Arun Ferreira, who has been arrested for his alleged links with Maoists, on Tuesday accused Pune police for assaulting him during police custody. Ferreira was produced before the court after his police custody got over on Tuesday. But public prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar denied the allegation.

The police had produced Sudha Bhardwaj, Vernon Gonzalves and Ferreira before district and sessions court judge R. V. Adobe, who remanded them to judicial custody till November 19.

Ferreira told the court, “On November 4, I was taken to Swargate police station at around 4pm where investigating officer Shivaji Pawar interrogated me. During interrogation, Pawar removed my glasses and slapped me 8-10 times. My right cheekbone was swollen. I immediately shared this information with my co-accused. My medical check up was done the next day at Sassoon General Hospital. Though my blood pressure had increased due to the incident, it was found normal the next day. However, the medical report confirmed that my right eye was swollen.”  

Ferreira also requested the court that his statement should be recorded and his medical reports should be preserved under section 164 CrPC. His lawyer Sidhartha Patil requested that Ferreira’s medical reports be kept in court’s possession, as they feared that it could be tampered with if handed over to police. However the judge overruled it saying that there was no such provision. But he accepted Ferriera’s request and recorded his statement in the presence of defence lawyer and public prosecutor.