Two cops booked after junk dealer dies in custody in Ferozepur

Victim’s family members and sympathisers block Ferozepur-Fazilka road since Sunday, demanding murder charges against the police personnel; SSP denies torture allegations, seeks judicial probe

An assistant sub inspector (ASI) and a head constable were booked for negligence on Monday, a day after the death of a junk dealer, Kewal Krishan, 50, under mysterious circumstances in police custody in Fazilka.

Family members and sympathisers of junk dealer Kewal Krishan, who died in police custody on Sunday, sitting on protest on the Ferozepur-Fazilka road on Monday. (HT Photo)

Though Fazilka senior superintendent of police Sachin Gupta denied that Krishan was tortured as alleged by his son Rahul Wadhwa, 28, he said a case was registered under Section 304-A (causing death by negligence) against ASI Gurbaksh Singh and head constable Harbhajan Singh. “Krishan’s health deteriorated and he collapsed when he was being taken to the civil hospital. We have sought a judicial investigation into the matter,” Gupta said.

Wadhwa, who assisted his father in the business, however, claimed that some people had falsely implicated Krishan on charges of dealing in stolen iron rods. “The police took him into custody on Sunday evening and tortured him, causing his death,” Wadhwa alleged.

When the local police authorities did not heed to his demand to register a case of the murder against the police personnel allegedly involved, the family along with residents of Mandi Ladhuka, 17km from Fazilka, blocked traffic on the Ferozepur road, demanding the registration of murder charges against the policemen. The road has been blocked since Sunday, causing inconvenience to commuters.