A joint team of SDO Naveen Singh and SDPO Punj Prakash will conduct an inquiry into the custodial death of 22-year old Minhaz Ansari, who had been arrested in Jamtara for allegedly sharing objectionable posts relating to beef on WhatsApp.
Ansari was picked up on October 2 and arrested a day later. He died on October 9 at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi.
"We are still waiting for the post-mortem examination report, following which the picture will be clear about the reasons behind his death. Prima facie it appears that the death occurred due to encephalitis as he was said to be suffering from the disease," said Jamtara SP Manoj Kumar Singh. A team of officials including Naveen Singh and Punj Prakash will hold the inquiry into the incident, added the SP.
"Meanwhile, looking at the lapses on the part of the officer-in-charge, Harish Pathak of Narayanpura police station has been suspended and an inquiry has already been initiated against him as per the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission," said Singh. He said that the officer-in-charge did not check about his medical condition.
The action against Ansari had been taken ahead of Dussehra and Muharram as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident.
"We took action against Ansari because the WhatsApp message, with some comments about beef, had the potential to disturb communal peace so close to Dussehra and Muharram," said Deputy Commissioner Ramesh Kumar Dubey.
"After Ansari's death, the charge of attempt to murder against the officer-in-charge was automatically converted to a murder charge," said Dubey.
He also said that the initial medical reports indicated that Ansari was suffering from encephalitis and it appears that the officer-in-charge did not check on that.
The family, however, alleged that Ansari was beaten up and tortured in custody following which he died while getting treated in RIMS.
"Ansari's family filed a written complaint against Pathak, following which an FIR of attempt to murder and outraging the modesty of a woman was registered against him," Dubey added.
Two days after the arrest, Ansari's family learnt that he had been shifted to a hospital in Dhanbad, around 80 km away from Jamtara. He was later shifted to RIMS after his condition deteriorated further. Ansari died two days after being shifted to RIMS.