SHO, others booked on murder charge after man dies in police custody in Lucknow
Lucknow, Oct 27: Police on Sunday lodged an FIR on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy against the SHO of Chinhat police station here and others after the family of a 30-year-old man, who died in police custody, alleged that he was beaten to death by the cops, officials said.
The incident evoked a strong reaction from the opposition parties, with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav saying "the term police custody" should be changed to "torture house", while senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged that the "BJP has established such a jungle raj in the state where police have become synonymous with brutality".
A resident of Jainabad in the Chinhat area here, Mohit Kumar was arrested in connection with a case on Saturday. He died at a hospital while in custody following which his family members alleged police brutality as the cause of his death, police said.
Taking note of the complaint lodged by the victim's mother, an FIR under sections 103 (1) (Punishment for murder) and 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of the BNS has been registered against inspector Ashwani Chaturvedi, Station House Officer at the Chinhat police station, and others including some unidentified persons, Additional Commissioner of Police Vibhuti Khand Radha Ram Singh told reporters on Sunday.
A detailed probe is on into the matter, he said.
The exact cause of death will be ascertained after the post-mortem which will be videographed, the officer added.
A CCTV clip went viral on social media purportedly showing the victim lying in the lockup. The family members of the deceased accused the police of deliberately leaking only a small portion of the footage to save their back, claiming that Kumar was beaten to death by the cops.
According to the police, Kumar was rushed to a community health centre after he became unwell at the police station. From there he was referred to a bigger facility where he died, they said.
However, Shobharam, the victim's brother who claimed he was also taken into custody before being released later, alleged that the police mercilessly thrashed Kumar in front of him and sent him to the hospital only after he died.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday slammed the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the incident.
"This is the second news of death (read murder') in police custody in the last 16 days in the Uttar Pradesh capital. The government, which is an expert in changing names, should now change the name of 'police custody' to 'torture house'. Every demand of the victim's family must be met. We are with them," Yadav said in a post on X.
Reacting to the incident, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in a post on X in Hindi, said, "In Lucknow, UP, the police detained two youths and one died the next morning. This is the second death in UP police custody in a fortnight. The family alleges that the police murdered their son."
"Uttar Pradesh ranks first in the country in terms of deaths in custody. The BJP has established such a jungle raj in the state where police have become synonymous with brutality. Where the lawkeepers themselves are taking lives. From whom should the public expect justice? " she said
Earlier, a 24-year-old man died in police custody after being arrested during a raid on a gambling den in Lucknow.
While Aman Gautam's family had accused the cops of beating him to death, police denied the allegations.
According to officials, a team of police personnel conducted a raid on Ambedkar Park in Sector 8 of Vikasnagar on October 11 night following reports of gambling activities.
"Two individuals, including Aman Gautam (24), were apprehended and taken into custody," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Jitendra Kumar Dubey had said on October 12.
"While being transported to the police station, Aman's condition deteriorated, and he was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival," the officer added.
Aman died due to police beatings, his family has alleged.
Meanwhile, spokesperson of the UP Congress Uma Shankar Pandey said, "The brutal murder of businessman Mohit Kumar in the lockup of Chinhat police station in Lucknow is extremely serious and infuriating."
"The family members are saying that the police have committed the murder under pressure from the ruling party," he claimed.
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UP: Misled by GPS navigation, car falls into river from partially constructed bridge, 3 dead
Bareilly (UP), Nov 24: Three people died when their car fell into the Ramganga river from a partially constructed bridge here on Sunday, police said, adding that they suspect the driver was misled by its navigation system into taking the unsafe route.
The accident occurred around 10 am on the Khalpur-Dataganj road when the victims were travelling from Bareilly to Dataganj in the Badaun district, they said.
"Earlier this year, floods had caused the front portion of the bridge to collapse into the river, but this change had not been updated in the system," Circle Officer Ashutosh Shivam said.
The driver was using a navigation system and did not realise that the bridge was unsafe, driving the car off the damaged section, the police said.
There were no safety barriers or warning signs on the approach to the damaged bridge, leading to the fatal accident, Shivam said.
Upon receiving information, police teams from Faridpur, Bareilly and Dataganj police station rushed to the spot. They recovered the vehicle and the bodies from the river, Shivam added.
The circle officer said that bodies had been sent for post-mortem. Further investigation into the matter is underway.
— Bareilly Police (@bareillypolice) November 24, 2024
