New Delhi: The Lucknow police have come under fire after the sudden death of a Dalit man, in his mid-twenties, who was picked up by policemen in an alleged raid against gamblers. The family of Aman Gautam alleged that he died after being assaulted by the police. The police, however, claimed that Gautam died due to a heart attack that he suffered soon after being rounded up into a police vehicle.
A criminal case was later lodged against four policemen of the PRV (Police Response Vehicle) that picked up Gautam, an electrician by profession, on Friday night (October 11), after a complaint filed by his family.
The next day, Gautam’s family members along with locals, activists and members of opposition parties, blocked a road in protest for several hours demanding action against the police.
The Lucknow police said that on the night of October 11, a 112 emergency services police vehicle received information that some people were gambling at the local Ambedkar Park in Sector 8 of Vikas Nagar. When the police reached the spot, those who were gambling started to run the moment they spotted the police vehicle, said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) North Lucknow Jitendra Kumar Dubey.
Two persons, Sonu Bansal and Aman Gautam, were caught by the police and escorted to the vehicle so that they could be taken to the police station for questioning, said the officer. The police said that Gautam’s health “suddenly deteriorated” when he sat in the vehicle. The police immediately took him to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead, the Lucknow police said in a statement.
The police said that an autopsy conducted by a panel of three doctors revealed there was “no visible injury” on the body. The cause of death, according to the post-mortem report, was a heart attack (cardiogenic shock),” said police.
Gautam’s family, however, have contested the claims of the police. His sister, Sudha Gautam, said that even if it was believed that Gautam died due to a heart-attack, the police were responsible for it. Gautam had no previous history of heart issues or had ever been on any medication related to the heart, his family said.
“Police are saying he died due to a heart attack. But the police are responsible for that. My brother walked to the police vehicle. He was normal. What did they do to him in the car that caused this? Any attack? Any assault on the chest? The police did something,” Sudha told The Wire. She stressed that since Aman died in police custody, the onus lay on the policemen who took him away. “They must have instilled some form of terror in him. They must have committed some abuse or some form of assault,” said Sudha, refusing to believe that her brother suddenly died of a heart attack with no immediate cause.
She added that till Gautam was being taken to the police vehicle, he was normal. “There is CCTV footage of him being taken towards the vehicle but not of the actual vehicle. Whatever they did to him they did it inside the car,” said Sudha.
While the police said they had rounded up Aman over complaints of gambling, his family said he was out walking around the colony to distribute donation slips for a religious event, a jagran, that was to be held the next day. “He was carrying some donation slips in his pocket and was roaming about the colony. He was a member of the jagran (organising committee),” said Sudha.
On Sunday, the police registered an FIR against four police personnel, including three who were not named, in connection with Gautam’s death. They were booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and under relevant sections of The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, reported Hindustan Times.
Opposition parties have questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over Gautam’s death and demanded action against the police personnel involved in it.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati described it as a death due to “police brutality.” She said that the government should take strict action against the guilty policemen and provide all help to the victim’s family.
Chandrashekhar Aazad, MP from Nagina, said the incident was “extremely sad and worrying,” and demanded that the Director General of Police (DGP) conduct an independent probe. “The family say that Aman died after being chased and falling and then being brutally assaulted by police,” said Aazad on X.
A delegation of the Samajwadi Party (SP) led by Mohanlalganj MP R.K. Chaudhary visited the family. Gautam was neither into gambling nor into substance abuse. He was picked up by police “only because he was a Dalit” and was then beaten up, due to which he died, said the MP.
Chaudhary demanded a high-level probe of the incident and that the government provide Gautam’s widow a government job and a monetary compensation of Rs 50 lakh. “It’s injustice against the family. Aman was innocent,” said Chaudhary. On Monday, he handed over a cheque of Rs 2 lakh to the family on behalf of the party.
Congress UP president Ajay Rai also visited the family on Monday. Talking to media persons, he said “jungle raj” was prevailing in the state, which was reeling under the “injustice and oppression” of the police. “Aman was 25 years old. Will a 25-year-old man get a heart attack? The family says he died after being beaten by the police. This is a case of murder. All the policemen involved in it should be booked for murder and sent to jail,” said Rai.
Sudha said Aman’s infant daughter will turn 4 on October 28. “She is still looking for her father,” she added.
