New Delhi: A man who was summoned by the police for questioning regarding a sexual assault case was found hanging in a police outpost in Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddha Nagar on May 16, in the latest case of custodial death in the state.
The family of the deceased person, Yogesh Kumar, accused the police of murdering him. Kumar worked in a local bakery.
His brother alleged that local policemen demanded a bribe of Rs 5 lakh to release him from custody.
The police initially said that Kumar died by suicide but have launched an investigation to uncover all the details of the case, including how he died.
Taking a serious view of the allegations, Gautam Buddha Nagar police suspended all the police personnel stationed at the Chipiyana police outpost in Bisrakh where the incident was reported.
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An FIR was also being registered on the basis of the complaint by Yogesh’s family, said police. The details, however, are not yet known.
On May 15, Yogesh was called to the outpost for questioning after a female co-worker at the bakery had levelled allegations of rape against him and filed a complaint, said police.
Suniti, DCP Central Noida, said Kumar originally hailed from Khair in Aligarh.
Yogesh’s brother Jitendra told mediapersons that police picked up Yogesh on May 15 and demanded a bribe of Rs 5 lakh to release him. Jitendra, who was inconsolable after his brother’s death, said he paid the police Rs 50,000 and an additional Rs 1,000 in liquor. The police personnel asked him to pay the remaining Rs 4.5 lakh on the following day. “They promised to set him free in the morning…they killed him after hanging him,” said Jitendra.
Police said that a panchayat nama of the body was being carried out by a magistrate. Field units of the police were investigating the spot.
A panel of doctors would conduct an autopsy, which would be photographed, said police.
Gautam Buddha Nagar police in a statement said that “stern action will be taken against anyone found guilty of negligence”.
