ITANAGAR, 12 Mar: The Arunachal Pradesh State Human Rights Commission (APSHRC) has recommended to the director general of police to take appropriate action against one Bijay Sonar in accordance with the rule of law for knowingly providing false information to a public servant, and to submit an action taken report within one month from the date of issuance of the order.
The order was passed by the commission in connection with Case No 1/2/10/2026, following the disposal of a complaint received through the Human Rights Commission portal on 11.02.2026 from Bijay Sonar, a resident of Naharlagun.
In his complaint, Sonar had alleged that he was taken to the Naharlagun police station in connection with a minor offence relating to the alleged purchase of cannabis. He further alleged that, while in police custody, he was subjected to physical assault by police personnel, claiming that he was forced to carry a heavy cylinder and beaten with sticks, causing swelling, pain and mental distress. The complainant also alleged that he was compelled to pay a fine of Rs 20,000, which was allegedly paid by his parents, after which he was released.
He further claimed that he was not produced before a magistrate, thereby alleging custodial violence and violation of his fundamental rights.
Considering the seriousness of the allegations, the commission took cognisance of the matter and directed its investigation wing to conduct a thorough inquiry. The investigation wing was instructed to collect relevant records, including station diary/general diary entries, arrest records, medical examination reports, CCTV footage of the police station premises, and statements of the complainant and police personnel on duty, and submit a detailed report.
Following the direction, the investigation wing conducted an inquiry and submitted its report before the commission. The findings of the inquiry indicated that the complainant had not been formally arrested but was brought to the police station for questioning, based on information received from a reliable source. Upon verification, the case was found to be one of mistaken identity and the complainant was allowed to leave.
The police personnel concerned denied the allegations of custodial assault and illegal collection of money. The two sentry personnel on duty stated that they had been performing sentry duty at the Naharlagun police station on 10.02.2026 from 1:30 pm to 6 pm, and that no unusual or untoward incident occurred during their duty hours.
“The medical examination conducted on 14.02.2026 did not reveal any external injuries or signs consistent with physical assault. Further, the general diary entry dated 14.02.2026 did not indicate that the complainant was formally arrested,” the APSHRC stated in a release.
The CCTV footage of the Naharlagun police station for the relevant period also did not reveal any act of assault within the coverage of the cameras, it said.
The inquiry report also recorded that the complainant subsequently submitted a written statement on 16.02.2026, withdrawing his complaint to commission.
“It was also on record that on 14.02.2026, Bijay Sonar (23), s/o DB Sonar, village Durgama Chagaon, Boginadi, district Lakhimpur, Assam, sent an email to the commission, stating that he had not seen his parents paying any money to police personnel, and that he was not subjected to any physical assault at the Naharlagun police station,” the commission noted.
The complainant was thereafter summoned by the commission under Section 13 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 for verification of the allegations. Upon appearing before the commission, he confirmed that the complaint had been mistakenly filed through the online NHRC portal, and reiterated his earlier statement withdrawing the allegations.
“After carefully examining the report of the investigation wing, statements of the complainant and police personnel, the medical examination report, CCTV footage and other documentary records, including general diary entries, the commission found that no medical, documentary, or electronic evidence was available to substantiate the allegations of custodial assault, illegal detention or illegal collection of money against the police personnel of the Naharlagun police station,” it said.
The commission also noted that the complainant had voluntarily withdrawn the complaint and confirmed that the allegations were wrongly or falsely made.
Observing that Section 39 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 provides that every member of the State Human Rights Commission or National Human Rights Commission and every officer authorised by the commission to exercise functions under the Act shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of Section 2(28) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the commission held that knowingly providing false information to a public servant attracts legal consequences.
In view of the inquiry findings, documentary evidence on record and the voluntary withdrawal of the complaint by the complainant, the commission concluded that the complainant had knowingly provided false information. The commission also observed that filing false complaints before the commission is becoming a concerning trend.
“Accordingly, in public interest and to deter abuse of the commission’s processes, the commission recommended under Section 18(e) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 that the director general of police, Arunachal Pradesh take appropriate action against Bijay Sonar in accordance with law and submit an action taken report within one month from the date of issuance of the order,” the APSHRC said.
