Five policemen and a government hospital doctor have been booked for the murder of a businessman who died in Kanpur Dehat district of Uttar Pradesh in police custody, The Indian Express reported on Thursday.

Eleven police officers, including two station house officers, have been suspended. The station house officers are also among the five policemen named in the first information report.

Balwant Singh, 27, had been taken into custody for questioning on Monday night in connection with a robbery complaint filed by one of his relatives Chandra Bhan Singh, according to The New Indian Express.

Advertisement

On Tuesday morning, the police told Balwant Singh’s family members that he complained of chest pain and was taken to a hospital, where he died. However, his family members have alleged that he died due to police brutality.

Balwant Singh’s uncle, Angad Singh, has claimed that he saw policemen thrashing his nephew when he reached the police station after getting to know that he had been detained, The Indian Express reported.

“After Balwant died at the police station, police took him to hospital,” another relative told the newspaper. “One doctor at the hospital tried to make look like that Balwant died during treatment.”

The postmortem report, which the Hindustan Times reported to have seen, says that Balwant Singh had been assaulted and there were 26 injury marks on his body.

Advertisement

However, the police have not made an official comment on the postmortem.

Kanpur Dehat Superintendent of Police Suniti said that all 11 policemen who have been suspended are absconding. The police have also formed a Special Investigation Team to look into the matter and have ordered a magisterial inquiry against the accused officers.

The district administration has given Rs 4 lakh and sanctioned a plot of land as compensation to Singh’s family. His wife has also been promised widow pension from the state government.