Punjab: Rape accused dies in police custody; kin allege torture

Gurwinder was booked in December 2018 for allegedly kidnapping a 17-year-old girl. Later, the rape charge was added after the girl’s medical examination.

A 25-YEAR-OLD man died under mysterious circumstances late Tuesday, hours after Ludhiana police arrested him in a rape case and kept him in lock-up at Shimlapuri police station. A judicial probe has been ordered.

The family of Gurwinder Singh (24), a resident of Malakpur, Payal, alleged that he was booked in a false case and tortured in police custody. They refused to claim his body after autopsy at Civil Hospital and said they will protest with the body on the streets Thursday if the Shimlapuri station house officer (SHO) is not booked.

A senior police officer, however, said that Gurwinder was carrying sulphas tablets along with him when he came to surrender and consumed them after he was taken to the lock-up.

Gurwinder was booked in December 2018 for allegedly kidnapping a 17-year-old girl. Later, the rape charge was added after the girl’s medical examination. He was booked under sections 363 (kidnapping), 366-A (procuration of minor girl) and 376 (rape) of IPC at Shimlapuri police station.

Police sources said that initially, he was booked under sections 363 and 366-A of IPC and got bail. His arrest was pending after the rape charge was added to the FIR. On Tuesday, he was made to surrender by his village sarpanch, who accompanied him to police station. However, after a few hours, his condition deteriorated in the lock-up and he was taken to Civil Hospital, where he died undergoing treatment, they added.

Gurwinder’s father Balbir Singh said his son was booked in false rape case at the behest of the girl’s family. “He was tortured and assaulted in police custody. We received a call around midnight that his condition has deteriorated and when we reached Civil Hospital, he had already died. We will be protesting again if the SHO is not booked for the murder of my son,” he added.

Inspector Pramod Kumar, SHO, Shimlapuri police station, said that cause of death is unclear and that the man died “under mysterious circumstances”. “We had taken him to hospital as soon as his condition deteriorated. He died in the hospital not in lock-up. We had to produce him in court today,” he added.

Ludhiana Police Commissioner Rakesh Agrawal said that a judicial probe will be conducted by a magistrate and the autopsy was video-recorded. “We are waiting for the autopsy report,” he added.

Source: Read Full Article