Agitated over the death of a youth, allegedly due to torture in police custody, hundreds of villagers and relatives of the victim kept the body on road and created a ruckus in Baghpat on Monday morning.
The protesters also blocked the road for several hours, demanding action against the accused policemen.
The relatives allege that the cops of Ratauli police outpost picked up the victim and thrashed him on suspicion of gambling due to which he died.
On the assurance given by the police officers, the protesters allowed the dead body to be lifted from the road and cleared the road blockade.
One constable was removed and sent to the police lines.
Reports said that 26-year-old Sajid of Rataul under Khekra police station died allegedly after being beaten up by the police. The accused policeman, Abhay Kumar, was later sent to the lines after the local residents staged a massive demonstration, demanding action against the cops.
Superintendent of Police Arpit Vijayvargiya said on Monday that in the investigation so far, it was not confirmed that Sajid was tortured by the police. The autopsy of Sajid’s body has been conducted by a panel of doctors. Till now, the relatives of the deceased have not filed any complaint against any policeman in this case.
The SP said that the investigation of the incident was handed over to ASP Manish Mishra. He said that according to the investigation so far, on Sunday morning, some boys were sitting in a suspicious condition in the mango orchard in Ratauli police post area of Khekra and on seeing the police, they started running away. The police caught Sajid among them and he was released shortly after being interrogated at the Ratauli police station.
On the other hand, Sajid’s father, Babu, and other family members claimed that Sajid was sitting with some youths near Noorbagh on Sunday morning, when the policemen reached there. Seeing them, other youths ran away but the police caught Sajid and took him to the police outpost. The family alleged that Sajid was mercilessly beaten up at the outpost and when his condition worsened, his family members were called and asked to take him away. The family took Sajid to the hospital, but he died on the way.
Angered by this incident, the villagers blocked the road by placing Sajid’s body on the Banthla-Dhikauli road, demanding registration of a case against the accused policemen. The police officials, who reached the spot, assured the protesters of action, after which the protest ended.
Meanwhile, in Sitapur, three policemen, including a station house officer (SHO), were suspended and booked after a video of a woman allegedly being beaten inside Rampur Mathura police station in Sitapur went viral on social media.
Sitapur’s Superintendent of Police Ghule Sushil Chandrabhan ordered an inquiry by an officer of the rank of assistant superintendent of police.
According to the FIR, SHO Ram Awadh Chauhan, head constable Kamlesh Yadav and woman constable Rachna Chaudhary have been booked under the charges of sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code on the complaint of Annapurna Devi.
On June 18, Nirankar Sharma and Omkar had gone to Rampur Mathura police station to file a complaint related to a family dispute. When they did not return till evening, a group of women, led by Annapurna, reached the police station and asked the cops the reason for keeping Nirankar Sharma and Omkar in custody.
“SHO Ram Awadh Chauhan called a lady constable and head constable who locked us in a room and thrashed us brutally with a leather leash,” said Annapurna, in her complaint to the police.
Later, the women were also booked by the police under Section 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code for breach of peace.
The aggrieved woman then complained about the matter to the district magistrate and the SP. SP Chandrabhan asked the Police Circle Officer Mahmudabad Ravi Shankar Prasad to conduct a probe.