Man dies after questioning by UP cops, family alleges torture in custody

Kanpur, Aug 17 (IANS) A 42-year-old farmer, who was called to a police outpost in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur district for questioning in a case, died on Wednesday while returning home. His family has alleged that his death was caused by the police's 'third-degree' methods.

Police have denied the charge, saying that the farmer appeared to have died of cardiac arrest after leaving the outpost.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Ravindra Kumar said that Dinesh Singh Bhadauria was called to the Hanumant Vihar police outpost for routine questioning as a criminal case under sections related to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was registered against him a couple of days back.

After questioning, he was let off, the official said, adding that Bhadauria was on his way home when he complained of chest pain.

He was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead, the DCP said.

Bhadauria's family alleged that his death was caused by 'third-degree' methods used by police. He was a resident of Bidhnu.

Additional DCP (South) Ankita Sharma said: "Footage from CCTV cameras has been examined. No instance of misbehaviour with the victim has been found," she said.

Police personnel have been deployed in the area to thwart any untoward incident, an official said. Senior officials are also at the spot.

Bhaduria's family members told officials that he had no history of heart ailment and alleged that police were making up stories to save the culprits. They alleged that Bhadauria was tortured and threatened by the outpost's in-charge, Ashok.

Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order) Anand Prakash Tiwari has directed that Bhadauria's body be sent for postmortem and a case be registered if the family submits a complaint. "The charges will be probed properly and action would be taken accordingly," the JCP said.

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