3 Policemen Booked For ‘Custodial Death’ of Dalit Man in Sultanpur

Kori’s mother said in her complaint that the policeman tried to strangulate her son with the intention to kill him.

Image used for representational purpose.

(Graphic: The Quint)

Three policemen have been booked for murder in connection with the alleged custodial death of a 35-year-old Dalit man, who was accused of kidnapping a minor girl, in Uttar Pradesh’s Sultanpur district, as per the news agency PTI.

The three accused – Kudwar Station House Officer (SHO) Arvind Pandey, Sub-Inspector Sanjay Yadav and Constable Brijesh Singh – were suspended on Thursday after Rajesh Kori allegedly died in police custody. They have been named in the FIR lodged late on Friday night.

Action was also initiated against Homeguard Bholendra.

The Complaint

The complaint, that was lodged by Kori’s mother Asha Devi, reads:

“SHO Arvind Pandey, sub-inspector Sanjay Yadav and constable Brijesh Singh started strangulating my son with an intention to kill him, and also beat him up with sticks… I begged them to send him to jail if he was guilty and to stop the assault. They did not listen to me, and sent me and my younger son away… Around 3 pm the next day, I was informed that Rajesh’s condition had deteriorated and we were asked to reach the district hospital. When my (younger) son reached the hospital, he found Rajesh’s body lying there. I am confident that the above named people have killed my son.”

The FIR against the three policemen was lodged under several IPC sections, including 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation), 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt). The FIR also invoked the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The complainant has also alleged that before Kori was found, the policemen misbehaved with the women at their house and used casteist slurs against them.

Police said Kori and the minor girl, who he had allegedly kidnapped, were found on 3 June and were brought to the police station. While the girl was sent home, Kori was kept at the police station.

“The probe is on. No arrests have been made yet. The post-mortem report mentioned death by hanging.”

Central City Officer Raghvendra Chaturvedi 

(With inputs from PTI)