CBI Arrests 6 Policemen, 2 Civilians in Kupwara Custodial Torture Case
Srinagar, Aug 21 — The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested six policemen, including two officers, along with two civilians, over the alleged custodial torture of a police constable at the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) Kupwara in February 2023.
The arrests came in compliance with a Supreme Court directive, which had ordered registration of an FIR against the accused and compensation to the victim, citing “inhumane custodial torture” that left him with grievous injuries.
The arrested officers include DySP Aijaz Ahmad Naikoo, Inspector Reyaz Ahmad, and four policemen — Jehangir Ahmad, Imtiyaz Ahmad, Mohammad Yunis, and Shakir Ahmad. They were all posted at JIC Kupwara at the time of the incident.
According to medical records from SKIMS Soura, the constable had suffered “complete mutilation of genitalia, lacerations on the scrotum, tenderness on palms and feet, bruises on buttocks and thighs, multiple foreign particles in the rectum, and multiple fractures.”
In her complaint, the victim’s wife alleged that her husband was illegally detained, “brutally tortured for six days, denied access to family, and later abandoned in a half-dead state.” She accused senior officers of complicity and termed the torture “barbaric, beyond anything known in human history.”
On July 21, the Supreme Court had quashed the FIR registered against the constable and ordered ₹50 lakh compensation, recoverable from the guilty officers. The court also directed the CBI to file a status report by November 10, 2025, observing that the case revealed a “systematic cover-up and abuse of authority” by local police.
The Apex Court further noted that instead of probing the custodial torture despite clear medical evidence, a counter-FIR had been lodged against the victim under Section 309 IPC (attempt to suicide), allegedly to create a false narrative.
