HYDERABAD: The death of a 30-year-old man on Tuesday night, while still in police custody, triggered protests by family members on Wednesday. They initially alleged that Chiranjeevi was tortured by cops even as police officials maintained that he died of natural causes. Later in the day, however, the victim’s mother claimed she did not suspect foul play.
An auto driver by profession, Chiranjeevi was a resident of LB Nagar Colony. He was taken into custody by Tukaramgate police on Tuesday evening for his alleged involvement in an attention diversion case related to theft of a mobile phone.
“Cops came to our house and asked for Chiranjeevi in the evening. They said that he was being taken just for gathering information. We were informed that he was being taken to LB Nagar police station,” said a family member. Since Chiranjeevi was inaccessible for long, his family went to LB Nagar police station. “They told us that they had not taken any person by that name into custody. We were shocked. We later enquired with the neighbouring Meerpet police, who too claimed ignorance,” the family member added.
Late on Tuesday night, they were informed by Tukaramgate police that Chiranjeevi died while undergoing treatment at Gandhi Hospital.
Family members and relatives staged a protest at deputy commissioner of police’s (north zone) office. When they were forced to leave, protesters gathered at Gandhi Hospital. A large posse of policemen had to be deployed at the hospital.
Rahul Hegde, deputy commissioner of police (traffic) Rahul Hegde, presently in-charge DCP (north zone), denied allegations. “Chiranjeevi was made to sit at the police station as staff were attending a crime review meeting. Within an hour, he suffered fits even before questioning started. The policemen shifted him to Gandhi Hospital where he died,” Hegde said.
Late in the evening victim’s mother claimed she did not suspect foul play. “We received a petition from Chiranjeevi’s mother who mentioned she does not suspect any foul play. However, we have registered a case under Section 174 (suspicious death) of CrPC and will get post-mortem performed to know if there are any injuries,” Tukaramgate inspector R Yellappa told TOI.