Family blocks road after man dies in police custody in Lucknow; police synonymous with brutality, says Priyanka

An FIR has been registered against Chinhat SHO Ashwani Chaturvedi and others on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy

The death of a 32-year-old trader in police custody in Lucknow led to outrage on Sunday (October 27, 2024) with victim’s family and residents blocking a Vibhuti Khand road, where several ministers’s houses are located, in the Uttar Pradesh capital demanding justice and compensation. The family alleged that Mohit Pandey was brutally assaulted on Saturday (October 26, 2024) night resulting in his death and that the police transported him to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital here in an attempt to conceal the incident.

Family alleges police brutality

“On October 25, my son and one Aadesh had a minor altercation and both of them called police. The police took my son to the Chinhat police station and later when my elder son went to see him, the police locked him up too claiming that he was intoxicated. They let Aadesh go as his uncle was a political leader. Before locking up both my sons together, police beat up Mohit so severely, that he died in the lock-up. They didn’t allow us to meet him and later transported him to the Lohia Hospital where he was declared dead,” said Tapeshwari Devi, the mother of Mohit Pandey.

Also read: Data | Five States including Tamil Nadu recorded over 100 custodial deaths but zero police convictions between 2001-18

An FIR has been registered against Ashwani Chaturvedi, the station house officer (SHO) of the Chinhat police station in Lucknow, and others on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy based on a complaint.

In the wake of the alleged custodial death, opposition parties targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying that it was running a jungle raj in U.P. where police had become synonymous with brutality.

“In U.P.’s Lucknow, police detained two youths and one died the next morning. This is the second death in police custody in U.P. in a fortnight. The family alleges that the police murdered their son. Uttar Pradesh ranks first in the country in deaths in police custody. The BJP has established such a jungle raj in the State where police have become synonymous with brutality. Where the law keepers themselves are taking lives, from whom should the public expect justice?” senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked in a post on X.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav said that ‘police custody’ in the State should be renamed as ‘torture house’. “This is the second news of ‘death (read murder) in police custody’ in the Uttar Pradesh capital in the last 16 days. The government, which is an expert in changing names, should now change the name of ‘police custody’ to ‘torture house’. Every demand of the victim’s family should be met, we are with them,” Mr. Yadav said.

Published - October 27, 2024 09:04 pm IST