The Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday filed a first information report against unidentified police officers in connection with the death of a 22-year-old Muslim man inside Kasganj police station, the Hindustan Times reported.
The case was filed after Altaf’s father, Chand Miyan, filed a complaint that his son was killed in police custody last week.
Earlier this week, Altaf was taken to the police station for questioning after he was accused of kidnapping a Hindu woman. Following this, he was found dead in the washroom of the police station on Tuesday evening.
The police claimed that the 22-year-old had hanged himself from a tap in the washroom using the drawstring of his jacket’s hood. But the man’s family has alleged that he was murdered in custody.
The first information report filed on Saturday said that Chand Miyan has contested the police claim, saying that a five-foot-tall man could not hang himself from a two-foot-high water tap.
On Thursday, Chand Miyan had said that he was forced to sign a letter, the contents of which was unknown to him, by the police.
In the purported letter, Chand Miyan absolved the Uttar Pradesh Police of any blame for his son’s death. The letter also stated that Altaf was depressed.
Chand Miyan said that someone from the woman’s family had allegedly threatened to sever Altaf’s head, The Hindu reported on Sunday.
“When I reached the police chowki [station], I could sense that my son was being tortured but I was sent back by the police,” he told the newspaper. “When we received the body, it had swelling on the feet, apart from a mark on the neck.”
Kasganj Superintendent of Police Rohan Pramod Botre said that a case under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code had been registered against unidentified policemen, the Hindustan Times reported.
“Besides this, the woman who was allegedly kidnapped by the deceased Altaf and his friend was recovered on Friday evening,” he said. “Her statement is to be recorded in court on Sunday.”
Meanwhile, the police on Wednesday said that five officials had been suspended for negligence of duty. The National Commission for Minorities on Friday sought a report within 15 days from Uttar Pradesh’s director general of police and chief secretary on the custodial death.
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