AGRA: Saleem Rajput was in his 20s when three cops stopped him on the evening of July 25, 1999 in Muzaffarnagar while he was returning home from work. They said he had “stolen property” and that he would have to be jailed. Stunned at the accusation but with no means to fight the charges, he spent almost two months behind bars before being released on bail. Over the next 26 years, he attended more than 200 hearings. His years-long ordeal came to an end on Feb 4 when the court of the chief judicial magistrate finally acquitted him due to a lack of evidence and witnesses.
For Rajput, now 50, the verdict brought relief, but the cost he had to pay for it was too high. “There is nothing to rejoice about, really,” he said on Thursday. “This false case destroyed my life, drained my savings, and deprived my children of education. I spent years in court instead of working.”
Originally from Sardhana in Meerut district, Rajput had moved to Muzaffarnagar’s Mimlana Road to work as a daily-wage labourer. His lawyer, Thakur Farmood Ali, who fought the case pro bono, said it was constables Devendra Kumar, Aslam, and Nagendra, posted at the city police station, who had accosted Rajput that evening in 1999.
A search of his bag had then revealed a video game, buckles for belts, watch straps, bangles, and other items. The three cops subsequently dragged him to the police station and filed a case against him under IPC Section 411 (dishonestly receiving stolen property) and CrPC Section 41, which allows arrest without a warrant.
“It was a nightmare, and my family suffered immensely,” Rajput said. Married at the time of his arrest, he is now a father of four. “Each court date meant losing a day’s wages and spending Rs 150-200 on travel and other expenses. I don’t even know how much I’ve spent over the years. But now, I am happy and grateful to the honorable judge for justice.”
