Wife says the victim’s final moments were marked by pleas for water that went unanswered
NEW DELHI — A 22-year-old Dalit man died after allegedly consuming poison inside a police station in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur this week, triggering sharp questions about custodial safety and police accountability. His wife says his final moments were marked by pleas for water that went unanswered.
Ram Vishal Ahirwar, a resident of Naharpur, was at Chandla police station with his wife Leela to settle a domestic dispute. The couple, married for two years and parents to a three-month-old infant, had been living apart after repeated fights. Police said they had summoned both families for reconciliation, media reports reaching here said on Sunday.
According to officials, Ram Vishal’s condition suddenly worsened during the discussions. Witnesses reported he began vomiting, and officers later recovered what they described as a suspicious substance, suspected to be poison, from his pocket. How and when he ingested it remains unexplained.
He was first taken to a local hospital and then referred to the district hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead. His wife, Leela, gave a stark account: “He was writhing in pain and kept begging for water, but no one gave him a drop. He died in my lap on the way to the hospital. After that, I blacked out.”
Police have countered that administering water in suspected poisoning cases can be medically risky, but that explanation has fuelled public anger and debate over whether basic first aid protocols were ignored.
The family’s allegations are far graver. His mother, Mulia Ahirwar, accused officers of custodial violence. “They beat him mercilessly inside. We could hear his screams from outside. When I tried to get to him, they shoved me away,” she said. The family insists police are masking a custodial assault as suicide.
The incident drew swift action from higher authorities. Superintendent of Police Agam Jain suspended Chandla station in-charge Sandeep Dixit and ordered a judicial inquiry. Additional SP Aditya Patle visited the district hospital to take stock of the situation.
Leela said her husband struggled with alcohol and had assaulted her in the past, which led her to return to her parental home. That dispute brought them to the station. What followed has left a family grieving, an infant without a father, and a police station under intense scrutiny.
