SHO, others booked on murder charge after police custody death in Lucknow

Police on Sunday lodged an FIR on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy against the SHO (station house officer) of Lucknow's Chinhat police station and others after the family of a 30-year-old man who died in police custody alleged that he was beaten to death, officials said.

The incident evoked a strong reaction from the opposition parties, with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav saying "the term police custody" should be changed to "torture house", while senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged that the "BJP has established such a jungle raj in the state that police have become synonymous with brutality".

A resident of Jainabad in the Chinhat area, Mohit Kumar was arrested in connection with a case on Saturday. He died in hospital while in custody, following which his family members alleged police brutality as the cause of his death, police said.

Taking note of the complaint lodged by the victim's mother, an FIR under sections 103 (1) (Punishment for murder) and 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of the BNS has been registered against inspector Ashwani Chaturvedi, SHO at Chinhat police station and others, including some unidentified persons, additional commissioner of police Vibhuti Khand Radha Ram Singh told reporters on Sunday. A detailed probe into the matter is ongoing, he said.

The exact cause of death will be ascertained after the post-mortem which will be videographed, the officer added.

A CCTV clip went viral on social media, purportedly showing the victim lying in the lockup. The family members of the deceased accused the police of deliberately leaking only a small portion of the footage to save their backs, claiming that Kumar was beaten to death by the cops.

According to the police, Kumar 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, Shobha Ram, the victim's brother who claimed he was also taken into custody before being released later, alleged that the police mercilessly thrashed Kumar in front of him and sent him to the hospital only after he died.

Meanwhile, Yadav on Sunday slammed the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the incident. "This is the second news of death (read murder') in police custody in the last 16 days in the Uttar Pradesh capital. 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 must be met. We are with them," Yadav said in a post on X.

Reacting to the incident, Congress general-secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also posted in Hindi on X: "In Lucknow, UP, the police detained two youths and one died the next morning. This is the second death in UP police custody in a fortnight. The family alleges that the police murdered their son."

"Uttar Pradesh ranks first in the country in terms of deaths in custody. The BJP has established such a jungle raj in the state that police have become synonymous with brutality. Where the law keepers themselves are taking lives. From whom should the public expect justice? " she said.

Earlier, a 24-year-old man died in police custody after being arrested during a raid on a gambling den in Lucknow. While Aman Gautam's family had accused the cops of beating him to death, police denied the allegations.

According to officials, a team of police personnel conducted a raid on Ambedkar Park in Sector 8 of Vikasnagar on the night of 11 October following reports of gambling activities.

"Two individuals, including Aman Gautam (24), were apprehended and taken into custody," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Jitendra Kumar Dubey had said on October 12.

"While being transported to the police station, Aman's condition deteriorated, and he was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival," the officer added.

Aman died due to police beatings, his family has alleged.

Meanwhile, spokesperson of the UP Congress Uma Shankar Pandey said, "The brutal murder of businessman Mohit Kumar in the lockup of Chinhat police station in Lucknow is extremely serious and infuriating."

"The family members are saying that the police have committed the murder under pressure from the ruling party," he claimed.