5 UP cops suspended after man dies in police custody in Kasganj

Five policemen have been placed under suspension after a 22-year-old man allegedly killed himself at a police station in Kasganj on Tuesday night.

The man, Altaf, had been brought to the police station on Tuesday morning for questioning in a case filed last week in connection with the 'kidnapping of a woman and forced marriage'.

In a video statement released on Twitter on Wednesday, Kasganj Superintendent of Police Rohan Pramod Bothre claimed the man asked to use the toilet at the police station. When he did not return after a few minutes, the cops went inside the toilet.

"He was wearing a black jacket and it appears he hooked the string, attached to the hood of the jacket, to a tap in the washroom and tried to strangle himself. He was brought out unconscious and taken to the hospital. He died within 5-10 minutes," Bothre said.

The five policemen suspended in the case have been accused of 'negligence', according to a statement.

Meanwhile, Altaf's father Chand Miyan, said, "I handed over my son to the cops. But I feel that my son has been killed."

Another relative questioned how a person could hang himself from the water tap. "What is the height of the deceased and what is the height of the tap?" he asked.

The Congress leader Tariq Siddiqui condemned the incident as extremely painful and shameful. He said that it reminded of the Unnao incident. He demanded an in depth enquiry into it and that the police officials involved in it should be tried for murder.

Samajwadi Party leader Manish Jagan too called the incident as a shameful one. He said that the police in Uttar Pradesh has become unbridled. He too demanded justice for Altaf and compensation for the family.

It may be recalled that in December last year, the Supreme Court had ordered that all police stations in the country and investigation agencies -- including the CBI, National Investigation Agency and Enforcement Directorate -- must install CCTV cameras with night vision and audio recording.

The court said states have to install cameras with audio at all police stations.

With IANS inputs