Woman says hung upside down in police custody, 2 Jharkhand cops suspended

In Jharkhand's Latehar district, two policemen have been suspended following allegations that an Adivasi woman was assaulted and hung upside down during police questioning. The 33-year-old woman claims she was targeted over suspicions of poppy cultivation. On October 5, she alleges that officers, dressed in plain clothes, accused her of involvement in illegal activities and subjected her to a brutal assault.

She was taken to the police station, bound and suspended from the ceiling, before being beaten with sticks and forced to ingest green chillies. The woman also claims she was coerced into recording a fabricated statement, threatening to withhold her motorcycle and mobile phone if she refused. The police chief has directed an investigation, and the police have suspended the accused officers and initiated internal proceedings.

A joint inquiry team is being formed to scrutinize the allegations. The police claim to have found opium during a raid on the woman's property, but they admit that their actions lacked procedural safeguards required by law. The investigation is ongoing.