High court orders transfer of cops 900km away

Madhya Pradesh high court has ordered the transfer of the entire staff of Bhalumada police station in Anuppur district to "locations not less than 900km away". "Since Anuppur is a border district, the distance of 900km has been consciously fixed so that they remain at a distance and at different places, preventing them from hatching conspiracies and manipulating official records," Justice GS Ahluwalia 's Oct 3 order said. The court also directed the DGP to ensure that every room in each police station is under complete CCTV coverage with audio facility.

Justice Ahluwalia's order came during the hearing of a petition filed by Akhilesh Pandey, who alleged he was beaten by police personnel of Bhalumada and implicated in a fake case. The court also ordered that Rs 1.2 lakh be collected from the six accused policemen and handed to the victim to cover his legal costs.