A relative said when Saikul Khan was picked up by the police, his family members were not informed. Eighteen hours after Khan went missing, his family members were called by the cyber crime cell of Faridabad police informing them of the arrest.
Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI — A 27-year-old Muslim youth hailing from Rajasthan’s Alwar died in police custody on Sunday days after he was picked up by police in Haryana’s Faridabad.
The deceased, Saikul Khan, hailed from Tikri village in Alwar. A groom of barely three months, Khan was preparing for various competitive exams, a close relative of the victim said.
Sher Mohammed, a community leader from Alwar, told Clarion India that an FIR for murder was registered on Monday against two police officials after Khan’s family members, some locals and social activists from his village held a protest in Faridabad.
According to Mohammed, Khan’s arrest was a case of mistaken identity. Faridabad police wanted to arrest an accused in a cyber fraud case, but they wrongly took Khan into custody and beat him up, he claimed. “Khan died after he was beaten up in police custody,” Mohammed said.
Mohammed, who met senior Faridabad administration officials regarding Khan’s death, said their demand for registration of the FIR was accepted. However, Khan’s family and others wanted the immediate arrest of the accused. But the police are claiming that there were legal obstacles in carrying out the arrest. “The erring police officer has been suspended but I don’t think the suspension is any punishment,” he said.
“I have seen the dead body. There were serious injury marks on the entire body. His nose was bleeding profusely. Blood oozes out from someone’s nose in two situations: either after consuming poison or being beaten up. It is not a poison; he was thrashed severely,” Mohammed was quoted by the local media as saying.
He also met the magistrate who conceded that there were injury remarks on the shoulder, backside, and legs, Mohammed said.
A relative said when Khan was picked up by the police, his family members were not informed. Eighteen hours after Khan went missing, his family members were called by the cyber crime cell of Faridabad police informing them of the arrest.
“Family members went to meet Khan and talked to him. Khan was tortured a lot. He was taken to a hospital. I was one of those who took him to the hospital. Then, the police took a three-day remand for him. At that time, Khan was fine and could talk properly. He requested his family members to get him out of jail as soon as possible. Today, we were called by the police saying that Khan’s situation has deteriorated. When we reached the hospital, we found that he was dead,” the relative told local media.
____________
Graphic used for illustrative purposes only.