In Baghpat, row over death after questioning: family alleges custodial torture, police deny claim

The family, however, alleged that three police personnel from Rataul outpost picked up the victim, Mohd. Sajid, on Sunday morning, accusing him of taking part in gambling.

Mohd. Sajid

Sajid is survived by wife and three children, the eldest being seven years old, his family said.

“My son was not involved in gambling,” Sajid’s father said. “He told me that he would come back in a few minutes and we would eat mangoes together. He was just watching the others play cards. But police reached there and picked up three persons, including my son. While the other two were released after preliminary inquiry, police did not let Sajid go.”

Relatives and neighbours demonstrated outside Rataul outpost in the afternoon and demanded action against policemen allegedly involved in what they claimed was torture in the guise of questioning him.

Baghpat Superintendent of Police Arpit Vijayvargiya said he has ordered a probe. “We are waiting for the postmortem report. The family has not filed any complaint yet. We will act according to their complaint. I have ordered an inquiry, headed by the Additional SP; he is ascertaining all facts.”

“If any evidence comes up, we will take appropriate action as per law,” he added.

Rajinder Singh, PRO, Baghpat SP office, said: “Sajid was picked up by police and was released after inquiry. He went with his family members in sound health and died at home…. The body has been taken for postmortem; the report is awaited.”

Prita Singh said: “At around 11 am, a police team on patrol saw some people gambling in an orchard. They started running away at the sight of police. The police chased them and a man was brought to the post for questioning. His family came soon and they scolded him, asking why he was gambling. They then took him with them. There were no injury marks on his body. Shortly after his return, news came that he had died.”

The victim’s brother, Mohd. Sahabuddin, 37, said Sajid was in a woeful condition when he came out of the outpost. “Children who were playing here saw the police beat him. Soon after we brought him home, he reported feeling extremely unwell and turned unconscious. We immediately set out to take him to the hospital. On the way, he began foaming from the mouth… after a while his body stopped moving.”

Sajid, the family said, was declared dead at hospital.

Sahabuddin said, “We will file a complaint after the funeral. He was not involved in any crime. He worked as a painter and usually earned between Rs 250 and Rs 300 a day.”