Mumbai: 17-yr-old theft suspect dies, family alleges torture by cops

(Image for representational purpose)

A 17-YEAR-OLD boy apprehended by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) on April 3 and handed over to the Government Railway Police (GRP) a day later, died at the JJ Hospital in Mumbai early Saturday. His family alleged that the boy, who was apprehended on suspicion of theft, was assaulted by policemen, leading to his death.

The mother of the boy, a resident of Mankhurd, told The Indian Express that when she went to meet him at the Dongri observation home on April 5, he told her that officers of Kurla RPF had beaten him before handing him over to Wadala GRP. The Wadala GRP had later produced him before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), Mumbai city.

On Wednesday, the boy was admitted to JJ Hospital’s cardiac care unit. A senior hospital official said he passed away at 3.45 am, allegedly from acute respiratory distress. “Prima facie, it is a case of acute respiratory distress syndrome. He also had fever and pneumonia,” said a hospital official.

A Dongri police officer said that an accidental death report has been filed and the postmortem examination report is awaited. The mother, however, alleged: “He had complained of being in pain on April 5. I requested the police and the home authorities to take him to the hospital. I was told that he will be given medical care at the home. When he continued to complain of pain, the officials told me that no policemen from Wadala GRP was available to escort him to the hospital. He was taken to the hospital on Wednesday.”

Claiming that her son was not suffering from any illness, she said he died due to torture by the police. The Kurla RPF, however, refuted the allegations. “The juvenile was a habitual offender whom we had apprehended multiple times for cellphone thefts on trains. We had taken him for medical examination at Bhabha Hospital after we apprehended him and handed him over to the Wadala GRP for investigation in the theft cases. He was not assaulted,” said senior police inspector S P Atri.

“Our previous investigation had shown that the boy was addicted to drugs and may have been suffering from some related illnesses,” he added. The hospital authorities said his body will be handed over to the family on Sunday.
DCP (GRP) Samadhan Pawar said preliminary postmortem report doesn’t indicate any assault or injury. “The Juvenile Justice Board, on April 7, had directed that the boy should undergo medical examination. The reports of the first examination he underwent on April 3, when was in RPF custody, the second test on April 7 and the preliminary postmortem report reveal that prima facie there were no injuries on the boy.”

A police officer said that according to norms, a magisterial inquiry will be conducted, as is mandatory in cases of custodial deaths. A videographed inquest panchnama in the presence of the tehsildar has been conducted, the officer added.

Meanwhile, an advocate had on Friday approached the JJB, seeking action against the police on behalf of the juvenile and his mother. The application sought expeditious inquiry into “custodial torture” and disciplinary action against the perpetrators. Following this, the JJB had sought reply from the investigating officer of the case.

The boy’s mother said the juvenile had also informed the JJB that he was assaulted, when he was produced before it. The lawyer has also written to senior police officers as well as the State Human Rights Commission and State Child Rights Commission demanding a probe.

sadaf.modak@expressindia.com
tabassum.barnagarwala @expressindia.com