SHO Arrested on Murder Charges After Man Dies in Police Custody in Lucknow

Last Update:27 October 2024 22:29 IST

The official added that the exact cause of death will be determined after the autopsy, which will be videotaped.

Representative image of Uttar Pradesh police

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 police. police and authorities said.

Inspector Ashwani Chaturvedi, Station House Officer at Chinhat police station, has been suspended from duty with immediate effect “in view of the leveled allegations and case registered against him”, an official statement said.

The incident caused a strong reaction from opposition parties; While Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the term “police surveillance” should be changed to “torture house”, senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged that “BJP has created such a jungle”. raj” in the state where police have become synonymous with brutality.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati called the incident “highly condemnable” and said the government should take effective steps to provide justice to the victim’s family.

Mohit Kumar, a resident of Jainabad in Chinhat district here, was arrested in connection with a case on Saturday. Police said that the man died in hospital while in custody, after which his family members claimed that the cause of death was police brutality.

Taking cognizance of the complaint filed by the victim’s mother, an FIR was registered against Chaturvedi and others, including some unidentified persons, under sections 103 (1) (Punishment for murder) and 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of the BNS, Additional Commissioner of Police Vibhuti Khand Radha Ram Singh told reporters on Sunday.

He said that a detailed investigation into the matter is ongoing.

The official added that the exact cause of death will be determined after the autopsy, which will be videotaped.

A CCTV clip showing the victim serving time in prison went viral on social media. Family members of the deceased claimed that Kumar was beaten to death by cops and accused the police of deliberately leaking only a small portion of the footage to save their backs.

According to the police, Kumar was rushed to a community health center after falling ill at the police station. They said he was transferred from there to a larger facility and died there.

However, the victim’s brother Shobharam, who claimed that he too was detained before he was later released, claimed that the police brutally beat Kumar in front of him and sent him to the hospital only after he died.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Lucknow, in a statement, stated that “Bharat Kumar has been shifted from Ghazipur police station and has been made SHO of Chinhat police station.” Lucknow Police in a statement also said that “in view of the allegations leveled against him and cases registered against him, the SHO has been suspended with immediate effect.” “The matter has been handed over to SHO Gomtingar Vistar for investigation,” the statement said.

Referring to the autopsy report, the statement said, “Since the cause of death could not be determined, the internal organs were preserved for chemical analysis and the heart for histopathological examination.” Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday criticized the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the incident.

“This is the second death (read as murder) in police custody in the capital of Uttar Pradesh in the last 16 days. The government, which is an expert in changing names, now needs to 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 his post on X.

Reacting to the incident, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in a Hindi post on X, said: “Police in Lucknow, UP detained two youths and one of them died the next morning. This is the second death in UP police custody in two weeks. “The family claims that the police killed their son.” “Uttar Pradesh ranks first in the country in terms of custodial deaths. The BJP has created such a jungle in the state that the police have become synonymous with brutality. Where the law keepers take their own lives. From whom should the people expect justice? he said.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati said in a Hindi post on channel X: “It is natural that the family and people are angry over the alleged death of businessman Mohit Pandey while in police custody in UP capital Lucknow. This incident is extremely reprehensible. “The government must take effective steps to provide justice to the victim’s family.” “Apart from this, daily cases of atrocities against women in the state are a matter of great concern and the government must take strict legal action against such criminals, which is very important,” he said.

Earlier, a 24-year-old man died in police custody after he was arrested during a raid on a casino in Lucknow.

While Aman Gautam’s family accused the police of beating him to death, the police denied the allegations.

According to officials, a police team raided Ambedkar Park in Vikasnagar’s Sector 8 on the night of October 11 following tip-offs about gambling activities.

“Two persons, including Aman Gautam (24), have been nabbed and taken into custody,” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Jitendra Kumar Dubey said on October 12.

“While being transported to the police station, Aman’s condition deteriorated and when he was taken to hospital, he was pronounced dead there,” the officer added.

His family claimed that Aman died as a result of a police beating.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)