Deoghar ‘custodial’ death sparks protests, villagers pelt stone at police station

Dumka: Furious over the death of a 35-year-old man allegedly in police custody, family members and locals expressed their outrage by staging a demonstration and pelting stones at the Palajori police station in Deoghar district on Thursday. This is the second such incident of alleged custodial death in Deoghar district within the last one and a half months.The deceased, identified as Meraj Ansari of Dudhani village, was taken to the police station on Wednesday afternoon in connection with an FIR lodged against him related to a cybercrime. Police, however, said Ansari died of his ailment rather than any torture."Ansari was arrested from his home on Wednesday and was shifted to the Deoghar sadar hospital the same evening following the deterioration of his health condition during interrogation. He was declared dead by the attending doctor," DSP and spokesperson for the Deoghar district police, Laxman Prasad, told TOI, refuting allegations of police torture as the reason behind his death.He further said, "The cause of Ansari's death will be ascertained after receiving the post-mortem report of his body, which was conducted at the sadar hospital on Thursday by a medical board."Prasad also said a group of villagers gathered outside the Palajori police station as news of Ansari's death spread. They staged a demonstration and pelted stones at the police station."An FIR will be lodged against those involved in pelting stones," DSP stated, adding that there was no damage to any property or injuries to the personnel.Meanwhile, relatives of the deceased claimed that Ansari was fine when he was taken to the police station where he remained for eight to nine hours. He was subjected to immense torture that led to his death, they claimed."By the time Meraj was arrested, he was fit and did not suffer from any ailment. He was thrashed while being taken to the police station in the presence of family members," claimed one of his relatives, adding that he succumbed to severe manhandling by police during custody.Former MP and senior Congress Leader Furkaan Ansari, who rushed to Palajori, dissuaded the agitators from taking the law into their own hands."Personnel of the Palajori police station were simply assisting the cyber police officials in the arrest of Meraj Ansari. The matter of the high-handedness of the cyber police officials will be taken up before the chief minister for action against them," the Congress leaders told reporters, accusing BJP of instigating the mob against the police.Earlier on April 13, one Maheswar Rana (50) of Bagdaha village under the Sarath police station died allegedly during police custody. He was picked up from his home in connection with a Pocso case.Sarath JMM MLA Uday Shankar Singh, alias Chunna Singh, had demanded a CID probe into the death of Rana, accusing police of unleashing a reign of terror among the common people.