The police in Madhya Pradesh have come under intense scrutiny following the suspension of six officers accused of forcibly removing an 18-year-old passenger from a moving bus and later implicating him in a high-stakes drug-trafficking case. The controversy erupted after the teenager’s family produced CCTV footage that contradicted the official police narrative.
According to the video, the youth — named Sohanlal — was taken off the bus near Banda Khal while the vehicle was in motion, at around 11:39 a.m. on August 29. The footage showed uniformed officers forcing him to disembark nearly five hours earlier and at a location several dozen kilometers away from where the police later claimed to have arrested him. In the first information report (FIR) filed by the authorities, Sohanlal was said to have been apprehended near a cremation ground by 5 p.m. with 2.7 kg of opium — a quantity considered indicative of commercial-scale trafficking.
Faced with the clear discrepancy, the district police admitted that the officers involved belonged to the station in question and acknowledged the mismatch between their version and the CCTV evidence. Consequently, a senior court ordered the immediate suspension of the station’s then head and other involved officers pending a departmental inquiry.
In the meantime, the teenager was granted bail. During the hearing, the court denounced the conduct as “unconstitutional and illegal,” though it has yet to deliver a final verdict. Legal experts suggest the case may become a landmark in enforcing police accountability in the state. The boy’s family — still reeling from the ordeal — said that without the video evidence, they would have had little chance of obtaining justice.
The unfolding scandal has severely damaged the reputation of the Malhargarh police station, which until recently was regarded among the better-performing in the region. Many human rights groups and civic activists are now pressing for broader reforms to prevent future misuse of power, calling for improved oversight, transparent arrest procedures, and stricter enforcement of lawful protocols by law enforcement agencies.
For now, the case remains under close judicial and public watch as the inquiry moves forward and the state’s policing practices face renewed scrutiny.
