Youth dies in police custody, tension in Darwha

Yavatmal: After a youth died in police custody on Tuesday night, the situation in Darwha town, about 45km from Yavatmal, was tense but under control, said the police. An angry mob had pelted stones at a police station after hearing news of the death. They also damaged a few private and police vehicles parked outside the police station.
Sources said three youths had been involved in a verbal duel, following which there was a fight in the Railway Station area at about 8pm. The police reached the spot and rounded up three youths, and brought them to Darwha police station. Cops allegedly thrashed the youths mercilessly, and one of them collapsed. The cops took him to the Government Rural Hospital, where the doctors attending on him declared him ‘brought dead’.
The name of the deceased is Sheikh Irfan Sheikh Shabbir (27), a resident of Railway Station area. The other two were Golu Sheikh and Amir Sheikh, both residents of Railway Station locality.
News of the death spread like wild fire, and relatives and local people thronged the police station and later resorted to stone pelting.
The Darwha police informed SP Dr Dilip Patil Bhujbal, who sent additional police force to the town and the tense situation was brought under control. Dr Dilip Patil himself rushed to the town in the night itself and supervised the matter. Patil confirmed the death of the youth in custody and said investigation was handed over to the CID.
Meanwhile, the body was handed over to the next of kin after the postmortem on Wednesday. “We are now busy in maintaining law and order situation, as the funeral of the deceased is in progress,” Patil said. A couple of cops were also injured in the stone pelting, he added.