PCAPA man hangs self in lockup

“The man committed suicide. He was arrested because of his links with the Maoists. We have initiated a probe and the body has been sent for a postmortem. We cannot say as of now why he committed suicide. So far,there has been no complaint of torture,” said Bankura SP Vishal Garg.

The PCAPA,however,alleged that the man was innocent and was picked up and tortured,which ultimately drove him to suicide.

PCAPA leader Chhattradhar Mahato said,“In the name of conducting operations against the Maoists,the police are arresting innocent villagers and torturing them. Cases are being slapped on them and they are being branded as Maoists. This is one such typical case. Patihar was tortured by the police and went into a depression,which ultimately forced him to commit suicide.”

On Saturday,Patihar was produced in Khatra court in the morning and later confined in the court lockup. In the afternoon,he went to the toilet attached to the lockup. A few minutes later,police constables heard cries from the toilet and rushed in to find Patihar hanging from the hook of the exhaust fan.

“He was wearing a vest and a lungi. He used his lungi to hang himself. He was brought down and taken to Khatra sub-divisional hospital,where he was declared dead on arrival,” said a police officer.

According to the police,Patihar was arrested from Makorkol village in Sarenga on August 29 for his alleged links with the Maoists. He was booked on various charges,including Arms Act. He was produced in a Khatra court and remanded in police custody for five days.