New Delhi: Three members of a family of six in Bachod, Baghpat allegedly died by suicide after the Uttar Pradesh police raided their residence on Tuesday (May 24), looking for a 22-year-old male member who had been accused of kidnapping a Dalit woman.
Mehak Singh’s wife and two daughters died by consuming poison, according to the reports. “My entire family is wiped out due to police brutality… Police abused my wife and daughters and misbehaved with them. This humiliation forced them to take the extreme step,” Singh told the Indian Express. He had earlier alleged that there was no policewoman present during the raid, even though there were only women at the time.
Singh’s son, who the police had been looking for, is on the run. According to the Indian Express, the son and the woman who is missing – and whose family claims she was kidnapped – are in a relationship and have run away together. The Singh family belongs to an OBC community.
Bachod village pradhan Vishal Bardhan told the newspaper, “The family was living in acute poverty. Now none is left except the father, as the son is untraceable. This is the saddest incident in the village that I can recall. We demand that the family be helped financially and strict action be taken against those guilty, including police.”
Singh has lodged an FIR, including under IPC Section 306 (abetment of suicide), against Chaprauli Police Station in-charge Naresh Pal. Also named are Kantilal and his sons Shakti, 23, and Raju, 20, who had filed a complaint against Singh, and who allegedly accompanied the police team on Tuesday, Indian Express reported.
Hathras SP Neeraj Jadaun said, “An FIR has been lodged and investigation handed over to the Crime Branch for a fair probe.”
Right after the kidnapping, police had taken Singh’s youngest brother Sanjay into custody for three days and allegedly tortured him.
