Lucknow: A 28-year-old dalit man who was summoned for questioning by Fatehpur police in a forgery case allegedly died in police custody on Sunday, casting a fresh glare on the frequency of similar deaths in the state.
Satendra Kumar is said to be the 503rd person to die in custody since the state’s BJP-led government took charge for a consecutive term in March this year. Before this, a lawyer had put the number of reported custody deaths at 600 while the state government had acknowledged 501 deaths till July 26.
The victim, Satyendra, was picked up by cops on Saturday after his name surfaced in a probe related to a forgery case of 14 ATM cards, said Rajesh Kumar Singh, superintendent of police, Radhanagar police station, Fatehpur.
“Satendra Singh was summoned by Radhanagar police after his name cropped up in a forgery/dishonesty case and recovery of 14 ATM cards. On Saturday night the accused suddenly got ill. He was immediately rushed to the hospital but was declared brought dead by the attending doctor,” the SP told NewsClick.
However, the cause of death is yet to be determined. The police said the cause could be determined only after the complete report.
“We have conducted proceedings on charges of murder and wrongful confinement against the three police personnel, the investigation is going on under the supervision of the Judicial Magistrate. Prima facie, seems to be an illness. But to determine the actual cause of death,” Singh further said, adding that the additional SP will conduct a separate investigation into the killing.
Based on a complaint filed by the victim’s mother Ram Dulari member, an FIR has been lodged against the three suspended cops and four other unidentified policemen under sections 302, 342, 384 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the SC/ST Act.
According to the complaint accessed by NewsClick, the deceased mother alleged that her son Satendra Kumar alias Gajendra Kumar (28) was working as a medical representative (MR) and was living in a rented accommodation in Jairam Nagar. She alleged that on October 6, six policemen, including the SHO along with the SI of Radhangar police station took her younger son forcibly to the police station without any reason. Over there they brutally tortured him resulting in his death. She further said that the other police personnel called her elder son Arvind Kumar and demanded Rs 3 lakhs from him telling him that if he did not pay up then they would implicate his brother in a serious case.
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