The victims have been identified as Ravi and his nephew, Mahesh, both of whom hailed from Rajasthan. (Representational)A 40-year-old man, who was detained on suspicion of being involved in a theft case, died in police custody a day after he was brought to Hujurpur police station in Bahraich on Wednesday. The station house officer (SHO) was suspended after the incident.
DIG Devipatan (range) Rakesh Singh said the postmortem report has not confirmed the cause of death and did not mention any injury mark on the man’s body. “He probably died of illness,” the DIG said.
“On Tuesday night, Ashok Soni was called to the police station for questioning regarding his involvement in a theft case. He was not feeling well probably. Next morning, he complained of feeling severe cold and was taken to a local hospital from where he was referred to Sadar (district) hospital. But he died on way to the district hospital,” said Triveni Prasad Dwivedi, Circle Officer, Kaiserganj area.
He said several incidents of theft were reported from the area recently.
“Local residents suspected Ashok’s involvement in these incidents and hence he was taken into custody. His family members said that he was ailing. Soni is survived by his wife and three children.” SHO Pramod Kumar Singh was suspended by the SP for dereliction of duty causing death in custody, the CO added.
Claiming that Ashok Soni was not beaten up by the police, DIG Rakesh Singh said there would be a judicial inquiry into the incident.
“The postmortem procedure was video recorded and the viscera has been preserved. We will take further action on the basis of the judicial inquiry report,” the DIG said, adding Soni’s family hasn’t filed a complaint on his death.
