New Delhi: The custodial death of a 28-year-old Dalit man in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad has sparked an agitation in the district over allegations of police torture and led to two First Information Reports (FIRs) against the protesters.
Akash Singh, a father of two, was arrested last Tuesday over allegations of a bike theft. He died Friday, and his postmortem revealed that he died due to an antemortem head injury.
His family members have alleged that he died due to police beating.
Speaking to ThePrint, his mother, Shakuntala, said, “They took my son on Monday but are saying he was arrested only on Tuesday. The police beat him up brutally, leading to his death. He was arrested in a fake case. He already had a bike.”
According to police sources, Akash was arrested at 6.50 pm Tuesday and was sent to judicial custody Wednesday after a medical examination at 9.21 am. He, they said, fell sick Thursday night and received medication, but his health deteriorated Friday, and he later died at a hospital.
Speaking to ThePrint, Superintendent of Police (City) Sarvesh Kumar Mishra confirmed the postmortem. “The man died in judicial custody. A judicial inquiry will be conducted,” he added.
“There were two medical tests — one before the accused was produced in front of the court and one after he was sent to judicial custody before being lodged in jail. In both these reports, it has been stated that no external fresh injuries were seen. He was in judicial custody for 40-48 hours before death,” said the SP.
“The accused can tell the court if he faces any violence in police custody — before the magistrate. However, he didn’t mention any such thing, according to our information,” the SP added.
The police are yet to lodge an FIR in the case.
Also read: ‘Not given arms for decoration’ — UP DGP Prashant Kumar on encounter killings in state
According to the family, Singh worked at a marble processing factory. “He was returning home with a friend that day when the police took him. We were told that he was sick, and we tried to arrange for medicines. We didn’t realise then that they had beaten him up.”
Singh left behind two children, a five-year-old son and a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, and his wife, Preeti, and his parents. “His wife fell sick. We had to take her to the hospital,” Shakuntala further said.
After Singh’s death, protests broke out in the city Saturday. Residents staged a protest in front of the ambulance carrying Singh’s body as the family refused to take the body away for nearly 12 hours.
The police accused the protesters of pelting stones, blocking roads and setting a motorcycle on fire during the agitation.
One of the two complaints lodged against the protesters is by the ambulance driver, and it names 11 people.
The other has been lodged by the police, naming 32 people and 20 to 25 unidentified protesters.
Both FIRs have been lodged under sections for rioting, attempt to murder, intentionally provoking breach of peace, and criminal intimidation, among other sections.
About the protests, the SP said, “No arrests have been made so far. We are analysing all CCTV footage. Two men were detained earlier but have been released due to the lack of evidence.”
According to a police press release, Akash and Shivam Singh (19) were arrested Tuesday, and a stolen motorcycle was recovered from them. The police booked the duo under Indian Penal Code sections 411 (dishonestly receives or retains any stolen property) and 414 (assisting in concealing stolen property).
The police statement further stated that the deceased possessed a 315-core pistol and live cartridges, and a second case was filed against him under the Arms Act.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also read: Cops dressed as priests at Kashi Vishwanath, Akhilesh slams UP govt, asks: ‘In which police manual…