Bihar man dies in custody, kin allege he was beaten

The family of a Bhagalpur man has alleged custodial torture, following his death in police custody. On Saturday, Leader of Oppositon Tejashwi Yadav of RJD cited the case to take on the state police’s “high-handedness”.

Sanjay Kumar Yadav (45), a clerk in the water resources department, died on the night of March 29 — a few hours after he was detained by police on charges of being inebriated. Yadav’s family alleged that police had beaten him and he died soon after being taken to Mayaganj hospital.

The victim’s daughter, Monika Kumari, said, “My father was returning home after playing Holi around 9 pm. Barari police detained him and beat him. His throat had some marks, which showed he was dragged by the cotton towel wrapped around his neck.” The postmortem report ruled out torture.

Bhagalpur SSP Nitasha Gudiya said, “We have suspended the Barari police station in-charge. A thorough probe is being done taking all evidence into account.”

Local JD(U) MLA Neeraj Kumar Mandal accused the district administration of providing a “normal” postmortem report “under pressure”. He also alleged that police have “tortured Sanjay Kumar Yadav in a drunken state”.

Bhagalpur Congress MLA Ajit Sharma said, “A special probe team should be set up to identify policemen responsible.”

Tejashwi tweeted: “Bihar police has been sparing criminals and has been now flexing muscle and can kill anyone. The police have started randari (high-handedness) close to notification of the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill…”

JD(U)’s Neeraj Kumar said, “The Bill would not apply to the place Tejashwi Yadav has been referring to. As for allegations of police atrocity, Bhagalpur police have ordered a probe. Those responsible would be brought to book.”