Bengal child rights body seeks investigation into custodial death case

West Bengal BJP youth President Saumitra Khan stated that the party will stage a protest before every police station in the state on November 2, 3, and 4 if no action would be taken over the death of a 15-year-old boy, who had died in police custody recently.

Suri(WB):The West Bengal Commission for the Protection of Child Rights [WBCPCR] on Sunday demanded a "proper" investigation into the death of a 15-year-old boy in police custody in Birbhum district, chairperson of the child rights body said.

A WBCPCR team led by its chairperson Ananya Chakraborty met family members of the victim on Saturday and Birbhum district magistrate and superintendent of police on Sunday.

"The police told us that according to the post-mortem report it was a death by suicide. But we have taken the matter seriously and want the investigation to be done properly.

"The boy was kept in a child-friendly room and not in a lock-up of Mallarpur police station. We were told that the boy had used a piece of wire, that was tagged to a sound system in the room, to hang himself on Thursday night," Chakraborty said.

Superintendent of Police Shyam Singh said that necessary documents have been handed over to the WBCPCR chairperson.

The BJP had alleged that the law enforcers had beaten the youth to death as his parents were saffron party supporters.

The party had called a 12-hour bandh in the area on Saturday to protest the death.

The state president of the saffron party's youth wing Saumitra Khan had alleged that the youth, who had been charged with mobile theft was "murdered and hanged from the ceiling of a room in the police station by the security personnel, who are now being shielded by the ruling Trinamool Congress".

"We will not rest until the guilty cops are found out and action taken against them. We will be holding demonstration before every police station in the state on November 2, 3, 4 if no action is taken," Khan said.

The teenager's father, however, said he is a TMC supporter and his son died by suicide.

The police said, a magisterial probe has been ordered into the incident. The SP said that the boy was apprehended on Thursday afternoon on charges of theft.

PTI Report