An e-rickshaw driver died in Chaudhera village of Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh (UP), after two police officers allegedly assaulted him on Sunday, 10 October, reported The Indian Express. However, the police said that the e-rickshaw driver, Gaurishankar, "wasn't beaten up" even as two police officers have been suspended in the matter.
Meanwhile, Gaurishankar's family has alleged that he was beaten up by the booth in charge and a constable posted at the Pandawal police post in Chaudhera village, which led to his death.
The incident comes just days after Manish Kumar Gupta, a 38-year-old business person, had been injured in a raid conducted by the UP Police at a Gorakhpur hotel in the wee hours of Wednesday, 29 September. He had sustained injuries in the raid and was hospitalised but later succumbed to his injuries.
According to the police, Gaurishankar suffered from heart problems and was a TB patient as well.
He allegedly collapsed when the police officers confronted him, they said. The police said that he "could have been pushed, which could have led to him having a heart attack".
"He wasn't beaten up. He was a heart patient and also suffered from TB. He was taking his e-rickshaw towards the fair near the temple when the police stopped him. He could have been pushed, which could have led to him having a heart attack. However, there were no injury marks on his body," Bulandshahar Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Kumar told The Quint.
Kumar said that Gaurishankar was taken to a hospital in Aligarh for treatment, where he later died. "He was taken to a hospital in Aligarh. This happened around 7-8 pm on Sunday evening. He died around 12-1 am. The family had submitted an application yesterday where they had mentioned that he was a heart patient and also had TB," he said.
"If they file an FIR and if anyone is found guilty, action would be taken against them. We have suspended a constable (Rakesh) and sub-inspector (RD Sharma) as of now. People are saying that he was stopped, after which he fell unconscious," he added.
The Bulandshahr Police also issued a statement in Hindi on Twitter.
"In Chaudhera village, an incident occurred on Sunday night. The police tried to stop an e-rickshaw that was on its way to the local fair. During this, the driver fainted and was rushed to a hospital and later died during treatment. There are no injury marks on the body, and the victim had a prolonged illness. It is alleged that he was beaten up by policemen, which is being probed," the statement read.
Police are currently waiting for the post-mortem report, which would determine if the victim sustained any injuries.
(With inputs from The Indian Express.)
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