The Punjab and Haryana High court on Friday issued a notice to the Haryana government seeking an explanation for the complaint filed against Dalit labourer and trade union activist, Nodeep Kaur.
The court has given out the notice after it received several complaints about the alleged illegal detention of the 23-year-old activist who was arrested on January 12 after she had joined a labourers' protest in Kundli.
The court said it was taking up the anonymous complaints it received on February 6 and 8 about Nodeep Kaur's "illegal confinement" by Haryana Police, reported NDTV.
Kaur, who has been in jail for over a month, was granted bail on Thursday in one of the three cases against her but was denied bail in other cases last week by local courts in Haryana. The hearing in the third case is due on Monday, February 15.
Her arrest has been criticised by various political leaders in India and has also drawn global criticism with lawyer and author Meena Harris, the niece of US Vice-President Kamala Harris, among others who have spoken out for her.
Kaur has been arrested on charges of attempt to murder, extortion, theft, rioting, unlawful assembly, extortion and criminal intimidation.
She had been working at a firm in Kundli Industrial Area in Haryana's Sonipat, around 3 km from the Delhi-Haryana border.
Kaur's sister, Rajveer Kaur, denied all allegations and has accused the police of custodial torture and sexual assault on her sister.
"The government is afraid of the unity of workers of farmers, and that is why my sister is being targeted," Rajveer Kaur told reporters. "She has been beaten up in the police station by male staff and has even been sexually assaulted. There are injuries in her private parts. There should be strict action," she added.
The police have denied all allegations, calling them "concocted".
A statement issued by Sonipat Police said, "The allegations of sexual assault seem to be an afterthought, and the police department clearly negates them. Also, Kaur was constantly in the presence of two women personnel."
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