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Shillong, Jun 14: A 65-year-old man sustained severe injuries after Meghalaya police officials allegedly tied him to a pole, bound him with dog collar belts and unleashed dogs on him.
The incident occurred on Wednesday evening after the victim, Sonil Suting, was taken to Dawki police station and was bound to the pole with a dog collar belt and the officer in charge ordered dogs to be unleashed on him.
“He suffered severe injuries due to the dog bite all over his body and has been admitted to the Dawki Community Health Centre,” E Sawain, an advocate who has filed a complaint before the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission, informed the Assam Tribune.
According to the advocate, Suting and his three friends from Pyrdiwah village, along the India-Bangladesh border, were on their way to Amtapoh village to get their water pump drilling machine repaired on Wednesday evening.
However, their vehicle broke down and they had to halt at Lad Darrang village. In the meantime, the victims friends went in search of a mechanic to fix the vehicle.
At that point, the police arrived and questioned Suting and sought his identification papers. “Merely because his physical appearance is a bit different, the police took him as a Bangladeshi intruder,” the advocate said.
The victim, to prove his identity, produced his Aadhar card and his voter ID, but the police officials nonetheless took him to the police station, bound him with dog collar belts to a pole and allowed two dogs to bite him multiple times.
“The victim was left unattended despite cries for help. The police officials were in an inebriated state, and at 3 in the morning, he was dropped close to his village at Pyrdiwah,” the advocate said.
The victim, due to the injuries and his old age, had to crawl to his village. “This act of the police officials is a grave violation of human rights and against the principle of natural justice, which cannot be accepted, tolerated or encouraged at any level,” Sawain said in his complaint.
