HC orders probe into police officer’s conduct for sending FB request to complainant

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Jan 6 directed a deputy commissioner of police (DCP) in Mumbai to investigate and take appropriate action regarding a complaint filed by a woman who alleged that the police officer investigating her case sent her a Facebook request.
The DCP must also look into the conduct of the police sub-inspector who sent a friend request to the petitioner and take appropriate action, a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale directed.
“We fail to understand how an officer investigating the case of the petitioner, a lady, can send such a friend request to her or, in fact, to anybody whose cases he is investigating,” said the bench after the woman’s lawyer, Vijay Kantharia, furnished a printout of the friend request.
The High Court said, “Considering the officer’s conduct and how the case was being handled,” the probe should be handed to a higher-up. Atul Landge from Samata Nagar police station, Mumbai, was present in court when the matter was heard.
The High Court also directed that the DCP concerned should appear before it via video-conferencing on Jan 14, when the matter will be heard next.
The petition by the woman sought directions to the police to register an FIR. Her case was that between June and July 2024, her daughter, residing alone in a rental flat elsewhere, suffered a neurological infarction due to mental stress and was hospitalised in the ICCU. In her absence, her flat was broken into, and valuables, including Rs 15 lakh cash, were stolen, she said. She filed a complaint last August to the police, but since no action was taken, she filed a petition to direct the police to register and probe the theft case. Kantharia said later the police sent her a Facebook request, which the High Court took serious note of.