The wife of a contractual labourer who died in police custody has moved the Bombay High Court seeking a magisterial inquiry and compensation of ₹20 lakh for three minor daughters.
Deepali Jadhav, 33, said her husband, Deepak, who worked as a contract labourer was arrested by Mankhurd police after a man named Mohammad Saleem Khan accused him of stealing bicycles. On the morning of August 4, 2015, the Mankhurd police picked up Deepak and detained him at the police station. At 8.30 a.m., an entry was made in the station diary confirming his arrest and detention.
An hour later, at 9.45 a.m., Deepak was found hanging from the ceiling fan of the police station. He had used a spare pant worn by the police to hang himself. The post-mortem report carried out by JJ Hospital revealed marks on Deepak’s body and concluded that he was tortured in police custody. Ms. Jadhav said that following the cremation, the police offered her ₹2 lakh and pressured her to accept the money.
Ms Jadhav claimed in court that her husband was illegally and unlawfully detained in police custody and no FIR was registered for his alleged crime. She also pointed out that no investigation was conducted into his death and the mandate of magisterial inquiry had not been followed as per Section 176A of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Ms. Jadhav said the State had not yet paid her any compensation. She said she earned just between ₹100 and ₹200 by selling vada pavs and urged the court to grant her daughters seats under the 25% quota of the Right to Education Act.