Jharkhand: Man thrashed for ‘stealing’ goat dies in lock-up

BOKARO: A man, one of the two beaten up by villagers in Giridih district on Friday evening for allegedly stealing a goat, died in police custody early on Saturday. While police suspended two cops and said Balwan Mahto (42), a resident of Topchachi in Dhanbad, committed suicide, the district administration has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the custodial death.
On Friday evening, villagers had caught Mahto and Bablu Sonar, beaten them up and handed them over to the police on Friday. SP Amit Renu said Mahto had hanged himself at night with a wire and Sonar, lodged in the same lock-up, did not notice it. Sources, however, said Mahto died from the injuries sustained during the thrashing by the villagers and later by the policemen.
Police said Madhuban police station in-charge Raut Hanga and another cop have been suspended. Giridih DC Rahul Kumar Sinha, who ordered the inquiry, said, “A report related to Mahto’s custodial death is being sent to the National Human Rights Commission. His autopsy was recorded on video. A case of unnatural death has been lodged in this connection.”