Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday met the family members of trader Mohit Pandey, who died in police custody due to alleged assault, and announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for them, officials said. The government will also take care of the education expenses of the children of the deceased, they said.
Pandey (30) died on Saturday after being allegedly beaten by police personnel following his arrest in connection with a case, according to his family. Following an uproar, the authorities on Sunday ordered an FIR against the police station's personnel on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy. The in charge of the police station, who was among those booked, was suspended.
According to a statement, the chief minister offered his condolences to the bereaved family and instructed officials to provide an ex gratia of Rs 10 lakh, housing, free education for the children and access to various government schemes.
He also assured the family that those responsible for Pandey's death would face strict consequences and promised that the culprits would not be spared.
The opposition has been attacking the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the recent incidents of custodial death. On Monday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav fired a fresh salvo, alleging that the BJP government has ruined the police system of the state which is setting "new records" every year in the case of custodial deaths under its rule.
"I wish those who take life could give life in compensation. Those who have extinguished the light of someone's house on Diwali, it is hoped that they will not light the lamps of lies, they will not try to remove the deep darkness of their rule with false light.
"The public is asking, will a bulldozer be used on the person who died in custody? Condemnable!" Yadav posted on X in Hindi. In a statement issued here, Akhilesh Yadav alleged that 451 people died in police custody in 2021 in UP. "In 2022, this figure increased to 501. The number of deaths in police custody is continuously increasing," he said.
"The BJP government has ruined the police system of the state. The police are killing people instead of protecting them. Uttar Pradesh is setting new records every year in the case of custodial deaths under the BJP government.
"The police are harassing innocent people at the behest of BJP leaders and workers. The behaviour of the police has become exploitative and tyrannical under this government. The poor people are feeling helpless," he said adding, "Two youngsters have died in police beatings in a fortnight" in Lucknow.
"Police have become completely out of control under this government. The public has lost faith in the BJP government and the police. Ever since the BJP government has come to power in the state, deaths in police custody are increasing every year," he said.
Pandey's mother Tapeshwari Devi along with his wife and children visited the chief minister's official residence on Monday morning. After the meeting, the family expressed a sense of relief.
Tapeshwari Devi said, "We are satisfied after meeting the chief minister. He assured us that he was fully aware of the case and that there would be no leniency. Once the investigation is complete, strict action will be taken against those found guilty." Bakshi Ka Talab MLA Yogesh Kumar Shukla and councillor Shailendra Verma were also present during the meeting.
Samajwadi Party MLA Ravidas Mehrotra and Pooja Shukla, who was the party candidate from Lucknow North region in the last assembly polls, also met the family of Mohit Pandey and handed them a cheque of Rs 1 lakh on behalf of party president Akhilesh Yadav.
Pandey, a resident of Jainabad in the Chinhat area, died at a hospital in police custody. His family members have claimed that police brutality was the cause of his death. The incident triggered a major political furore, with the Samajwadi Party, the Congress and the Bahujan Samaj Party slamming the BJP government.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday alleged the BJP has "established such a jungle raj in the state where police have become synonymous with brutality". BSP chief Mayawati termed the incident "highly condemnable" and said the government must take effective steps to provide justice to the victim's family.
Meanwhile, the CPI (ML) expressed deep concern over the "increasing" number of custodial deaths in the state including the capital Lucknow. The party demanded a judicial inquiry into the death of Pandey and the immediate arrest of the police station in charge. State Secretary Sudhakar Yadav in a statement alleged that a "police raj" is going on in the state.
"The police have become autocratic. It is fearlessly flouting the law. There is no respect for human rights. ... if strict punishment was given to the police officers guilty of custodial killings as soon as possible, then such incidents would definitely have been curbed," he said.
According to the police, Pandey was rushed to a community health centre after he became unwell at the police station. From there he was referred to a bigger facility where he died, they said.
However, Shobharam, the victim's brother who claimed that he was also briefly held in custody, alleged that the police thrashed Pandey "mercilessly" in front of him and sent him to the hospital only after he died.
A CCTV clip surfaced on the Internet on Sunday, purportedly showing Pandey lying inside the lockup. The family members of the deceased accused the police of deliberately leaking only a small portion of the footage to save their back, claiming that Pandey was beaten to death.
A detailed post-mortem report is awaited. Pandey's is the second case of alleged police custody death in Lucknow this month. On October 11, a Dalit youth Aman Gautam, a resident of Vikas Nagar, died in police custody.
