By Maktoob
A 22-year-old Dalit man was found dead inside the Patti police station in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh district on Monday, with his family alleging that he died after being beaten in police custody, contrary to the police’s claim that he died by suicide.
Arjun Gautam alias Shailesh had been brought to the police station on Sunday for questioning in a case involving the alleged abduction of a 17-year-old girl and was found hanging in the toilet of the investigation room the following morning.
The girl’s brother had earlier filed an FIR against Arjun, a resident of Molnapur, on July 11 under Sections 137(2) and 87 of the BNS, accusing him of abducting his 17-year-old sister.
However, police later recovered the girl from Hyderabad, where she told the court that she had left home after being scolded by her family. Following her statement, no criminal case was established against Arjun at the time.
The girl’s father, however, lodged another FIR against Arjun on August 17 under Section 137(2) of the BNS, alleging that he had abducted his daughter on August 16. Acting on the complaint, Patti police traced Arjun and the girl to Ghaziabad and brought them to the Patti police station on Sunday.
While the girl was sent to a one-stop centre, Arjun was kept in the investigation room.
His family alleged that he was beaten by the police and claimed that they were not allowed to meet him.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.