40-year-old man dies in police custody in Sambhal; family alleges torture
Officials claim the man likely died of heart attack; cops flee police outpost for fear of mob attack as locals protest.
3 min read
The police said that an aunt of Irfan had lodged a complaint alleging that he had not repaid money he had borrowed months ago. (Representational Image)A 40-year-old man died in custody soon after being taken to a police outpost in Khaggu Sarai locality of Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal town on Monday, leading to a protest by his family members and locals alleging custodial torture.
Even as the police pointed to a possible heart attack, the victim’s family members along with locals staged a protest at the outpost, forcing the officials present there to flee for fear of a mob attack.
Later, personnel from the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and the Nakhasa and Kotwali police stations were deployed in the area to restore order, officials said.
Reshma (35), the wife of the deceased, Irfan, told the media that four personnel from the Raisatti police outpost stormed into their house and took an ailing Irfan, saying he was being taken for interrogation over a complaint against him.
“They took my husband to the police outpost, where he was beaten up. We pleaded with the police team that he was unwell and should at least be given time to take his medicine, but they did not listen. They bundled him into a jeep. Had he taken his medicine, he might have survived. He was killed by the police,” she said.
Sambhal Superintendent of Police (SP) Krishna Kumar Bishnoi, however, said, “When Irfan was brought to the police outpost, his son was also with him. He told the cops that his father was not feeling well and needed to take his medicine. He consumed a tablet and suddenly fell to the ground. The family members took him to the hospital, but he died on the way. He was a heart patient and probably a heart attack was the cause of his death.”
The SP also pointed out that the CCTV footage confirming that Irfan and his son did not remain at the police outpost for more than 10 to 20 minutes is available.
“One Shaifa Begum had filed a police complaint that her son Arman had given Rs 6 lakh from their family savings to Irfan who claimed he had given the money to someone else for earning more profit. A team was sent to Irfan’s house for inquiry following the complaint,” the SP pointed out.
During the protest at the police outpost, the police personnel led by Additional Superintendent of Police Shirish Chandra faced resistance from the protesters when trying to take the body for postmortem to hospital.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal Ziaur Rehman Barq in a post on Facebook demanded that a case of murder be registered against the “guilty policemen”.
“This is not the first time that the police are facing custodial death charges. For how long will the innocents be murdered like this? A murder FIR should be lodged against the cops without delay,” he wrote.
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