Murder suspect dies after police torture, cops booked

LUCKNOW: A sub-inspector and several personnel of Aashiana police station were booked on Friday for illegal detention and torture of a murder suspect which allegedly led to his death. The policemen had detained the suspect while probing the murder of a transgender.

The police lodged an FIR after family members of the deceased and locals laid siege to PGI police station and blocked Lucknow-Rae Bareli road for over three hours by putting the corpse on the highway.

The protesters lifted the siege only when the SSP Lucknow Deepak Kumar ordered registration of FIR against sub-inspector Abutalib Zaidi and other unidentified cops on the basis of a complaint lodged by the family members of the deceased.

"Late in the night, it was decided that the case will be handed over to the crime branch," Kumar said. The SSP admitted that the deceased, Qamar Qureshi (22), and his brother Hussain (20) were called for questioning by Aashiana police when a scrutiny of call record details showed exchange of over 100 phone calls between the brothers and Chanchal, the transgender, a resident of Para area, who was shot dead in Aashiana on April 22. Later, police told reporters that the exact cause of Qamar's death could not be ascertained in post mortem examination and the viscera has been preserved for further examination.

Qamar said police gave him electric shocks: Kin

Qamar’s father Mohammad Shahid, a resident of Duda Colony under PGI police station, claimed that his two sons were detained by Aashiana police two days after the murder of the transgender and were tortured in police custody.

Police handed over the brothers to their family when their condition deteriorated. Both were admitted to a private hospital where Qamar succumbed to injuries, he said. “During treatment, Qamar said that cops gave him electric shock, strained his private parts and hit him in the abdomen with blunt wood. Hussain was also subjected to inhumane treatment by cops,” he added.

Shahid said that a cop Zaidi, who said he was SI of Aashiana police station, came to enquire about his sons on April 23. “When I told him that my sons are away for work, he asked me to send them to Aashiana police station the next day,” said Shahid.

“On April 24, I went with Qamar and Hussain to the police station around 11am. Both my sons were detained and I was asked to leave. Next day, I again went to ask Zaidi about my sons but he told me to go away and said he would put me in prison if I went again to enquire,” he alleged.

“I didn’t go to the police station again. Then suddenly, on night of April 28, we were summoned to the police station and were handed over injured Qamar and Hussain. Qamar’s condition was critical so we took him to a private hospital where he succumbed on Friday,” he claimed.

The irate family members and neighbours put Qamar’s corpse on Lucknow-Rae Bareli Road in front of PGI police station and raised slogans causing a huge traffic jam. They lifted the body only when SSP reached the spot and assured them justice.

“If the named officers are found guilty they will be dealt with according to law,” said SSP Kumar, who also posted a video on the official twitter handle of Lucknow police.

Senior advocate of Lucknow high court, IB Singh, told TOI that police cannot even touch a person in detention and cannot hold them for more than 24c hours. Cops can only take statements and summon suspects from time-to-time, he said.

“If a person is subjected to torture during detention which leads to his death then the cops can be booked on the charge of murder,” said Singh.