Four police personnel convicted in 2016 custodial death case

The convicted police personnel had detained 42-year-old Mahendra Singh Rathod, a domestic worker, and allegedly assaulted him in custody during an interrogation, following which he succumbed to injuries.

The 51st Additional District and Session Court on Monday (November 25) convicted a head constable and three constables in a custodial death case reported in March 2016. The court sentenced them to seven years imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on each.

The incident pertains to a theft reported by a businessman in J.B. Nagar, who suspected his domestic help.

The convicted police personnel are head constable Ajaz Khan, working earlier with J.B. Nagar station and presently working in Halasuru traffic station; and constables Keshav Murthy of Ramamurthynagar station, Mohan Ram of Indiranagar traffic police station and Siddappa of Indiranagar police station.

They had detained 42-year-old Mahendra Singh Rathod, the domestic worker, and allegedly assaulted him in custody during an interrogation, following which he succumbed to injuries.

The victim, originally from Bihar, had been working as a domestic help for the businessman in HAL 2nd Stage for over 12 years, and he was accused of stealing ₹3.5 lakh. CCTV footage at the station showed Mahendra walking into the station, but by evening, he collapsed and was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital.

The court also directed that ₹2 lakh (the fine imposed on the four police officials) be paid as compensation to the family of the deceased. It also sought the recommendation of the district legal cell to determine compensation from the State government.

The autopsy revealed that Mahendra had sickle cell disease, which made him more vulnerable to injuries. The post-mortem report stated that his death was caused by a vaso-occlusive crisis in multiple organs triggered by physical exertion. It also confirmed that the assault caused the fracture of the right foot, and internal injuries of vital organs also triggered the vaso-occlusive problem that led to his death.

The police inspector had gone to a cricket match on security duty when Mahendra was brought to the station, where he was allegedly assaulted with lathis and a roller, which resulted in his death, Public Prosecutor Krishnaveni said.

The custodial death had led to the suspension of six police officials, including the then police inspector and sub-inspector, for dereliction of duty. Initially, the case was registered as an unnatural death, and after an investigation by the CID, charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder were pressed against the accused.

After a chargesheet was filed, the court charged the accused under Section 304 Part II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and Section 330 (voluntarily causing hurt to extort confession) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), read with Section 34 (common intention).

Published - November 27, 2024 11:08 pm IST