Sambhal Police Outpost Gheraoed After Man Dies 'In Custody'

Irfan was brought for questioning on pecuniary transactions when his condition deteriorated, leading to his death after which a crowd gathered near the Raisatti Outpost.

Sambhal:Hundreds of people gheraoed Raisatti Police Outpost under the Nakhas Police jurisdiction in protest of the alleged custodial death of a man, Irfan. The family members accused police of torturing the victim in custody.

Apprehending the situation may worsen, forces from two police stations were called to the spot where senior officials assuaged the protestors and the situation was calmed. Afterwards, the body was sent for autopsy. Sambhal SP Krishna Kumar Vishnoi reached the spot and rejected allegations of custodial torture.

On Monday, Irfan was brought for questioning on pecuniary transactions when his condition deteriorated, leading to his death. Hearing the information, a crowd gathered near the Raisatti Police Post. To bring the situation under control, the in-charges of Nakhasa and Asmali police stations, Asmoli CO Kuldeep Singh and ASP Shrish Chandra reached the spot. RAF was also called in as the number of people surged.

Reshma, the wife of Irfan, said five police personnel brought him to the outpost. Irfan was ill following surgery on his nasal bone at a hospital in Moradabad. "They did not even let him take medicine. We have been married for 22 years and have five children who become orphans, His aunt was the head of the house and Irafn had given her some money. It was the son of his aunt who cheated. Now the police have accused Irafan of taking the money and asked to return it," she said.

"These people (police) forcibly caught my father from home and took him away. They didn't even let him take medicines," Aafran Raza, son of Irfan, said.

"Today at 11.30 am, a woman named Shafiq Begum gave an application to the Raisatti police post of Nakhasa Police Station in which she told that her son, Armaan, beats her and Rs six lakh as house share were given through Irfan. Now, he is not returning the money. A team was sent to the spot for investigation which brought Irfan to Raisatti post. After reaching the outpost, he wanted to take medicine which was given. When complained about chest pain, he was taken to the hospital with his son, where he died," the SP said.

"He probably died due to cardiac arrest and the body has been sent for postmortem. The cause of death will be clear only after the postmortem. The allegation that the police did not allow them to take medicine is baseless as will be proved by the footage of CCTV cameras. The father and son stayed here for only a few minutes when the outpost in charge himself gave them medicine," he added.