Assam: 23-yr-old kills self by hanging after escaping from police custody

GUWAHATI | August 9, 2018:

On Tuesday, a 23-year-old youth from Chaygaon in Kamrup district was arrested by the Panikhaiti police outpost in connection with an alleged blackmailing case. The youth was later found hanging from a tree on Wednesday morning, about 150 metres from the outpost.

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The police claimed that the youth, identified as Chandan Bharali, had escaped from the police outpost and committed suicide.

However, the family of the deceased refused to believe the claim and has suspected that he could have died of torture in police custody. They alleged that the police had made it look like a suicide.

Chandan was the son of Gopal Bharali, a resident of Chaygaon in Kamrup district, about 50km west of the city.

As per to the police, Chandan was arrested on Tuesday from Fancy Bazar following a complaint lodged by the family of girl, with whom he reportedly had an affair.

Chandan reportedly blackmailed her after their relations turned sour.

He was produced in the court of Kamrup chief judicial magistrate, which remanded him in three days' police custody for thorough interrogation. His relatives rushed to Panikhaiti police outpost on Wednesday morning and asked how he could escape from the lock-up with his handcuffs to commit suicide.

The police said he was kept inside the outpost with handcuffs as they did not have a lock-up like a police station.

They found Chandan missing from the outpost around 11.30pm and launched a search. Around 2am, a police team found his body hanging from a tree. The body was sent to GMCH for a post-mortem and his family was informed. But the family members questioned why the body was brought down from the tree before they reached the spot.

The victim's relatives, who reached the police outpost, shouted slogans against the police and alleged that it was case of serious human rights violations.

The allegation against the police prompted the Kamrup (metro) administration to order a magisterial probe into the incident.

In an official statement which was issued by the Kamrup (metro) deputy commissioner's office said executive magistrate Pallabjyoti Nath has been asked to inquire into the incident and submit his report within 15 days.

A senior police officer admitted that it was a case of custody death and steps had been taken according to guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission.

Source: The Telegraph

Featured image: G-Plus