A 34-year-old man has alleged he was mistreated by police officers at Nausori Police Station last week.
Mohammed Feroz Ali of Kasavu, Nausori has alleged that he had gone to Nausori Police Station as per court order for child exchange with his now separated wife on the 28th of this month and the children had refused to go with their mother.
An officer made a diary entry and Ali was told to go with the children but 15 minutes after leaving the station he got a call and was asked to go back to the station.
He alleges that upon reaching the station, one of the officers told the children that he “would shoot them with a gun” if they did not go with their mother.
Ali says he told the officer that he was forcing the children and that he was recording the incident on his mobile phone.
He alleges that one of the officers then grabbed his phone and threw it on the desk, grabbed him by the throat and pushed him all the way to the cell block, where the officer bashed Ali’s head against the wall.
Ali says his children became very distraught by the incident and started crying.
He says he begged the officers to stop as his children were getting very upset and he was later told to take his children and leave.
Police spokesperson Ana Naisoro says police were merely facilitating a court order where the children had to go back to their mother.
Naisoro says the Internal Affairs is now investigating the allegations made against the officer's conduct.
She says they are mindful of the rights of children and in this case they were not forcing any of them to go to their mother but had to comply with the court order.
