Police say he drowned in a pond while fleeing, but family of Uttarakhand man claims assault before death

In a written complaint, his cousin Allauddin alleged that Wasim had gone to his sister’s home in Madhopur, and was stopped while returning home at night. Allauddin alleged that six police officials assaulted Wasim near a graveyard, without provocation.

“While beating him, they threw him in a pond nearby and did not let him come out. Hearing the noise, several villagers reached the spot and tried to save Wasim, but the policemen threatened them to leave or they would shoot him. During the aforesaid incident, Wasim was killed by the policemen,” claimed Allauddin in the complaint.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Wasim’s cousin Afzal said he was a gym trainer and an AC mechanic. He too claimed policemen had assaulted Wasim before tying his legs and throwing him in a pond.

“We have seen the body. His teeth were broken, his head and face had fractures, and there were marks suggesting his legs were tied… We have submitted a complaint but no action has been taken. The police have also failed to provide any evidence of the alleged cow meat,” claimed Afzal.

The police had earlier claimed that after Wasim jumped into the pond, a crowd gathered and held the policemen hostage. An FIR filed on the basis of a complaint by sub-inspector Sharad Singh claims: “During this, some in the crowd made the recovered meat and the scooter used for transport disappear. The crowd accused us of shooting their man and throwing him into the pond. Around 100-150 people obstructed our work, held us hostage, abused and beat us, threatened to kill us, and removed evidence from the scene.”

Talking to The Indian Express, Haridwar Senior Superintendent of Police Pramendra Dobhal denied the family’s allegations. “The postmortem report confirmed antemortem drowning. It also did not find any injuries on the body… The man was carrying cow meat in his scooter. Our cow protection squad stopped and chased him. He left the scooter and jumped into the pond. He tried to swim to the other side of the lake, but failed. Police officials tried (to save him) but it was very dark and he unfortunately died,” said Dobhal, adding that the postmortem was conducted by a panel under videography.

Haridwar Superintendent of Police (Rural) Swapn Kishore also said the postmortem report contradicts claims that the man had bullet injuries, that his teeth were broken, or that his legs were tied. “The postmortem report did not find any truth in these allegations. People should avoid such rumours so that social harmony is not disrupted. We appeal to people to avoid this, otherwise they will have to face legal action,” said the SP.

He said Wasim and his father Naseem had a case registered against them under the Uttarakhand Protection of Cow Progeny Act. Kishore also said that they have a video showing a scooter with a blue sack with meat in it. During the investigation, he said, the police found that Wasim had used this scooter in the past.