Vehicle-lifting accused dies in custody: Two Ludhiana cops shifted
Action came after kin agitate, block traffic near the Fortis Hospital
Two cops were transferred to the police lines after kin of Deepak Shukla, a vehicle-lifting accused who was found dead in Ludhiana central jail, blocked traffic near the Fortis Hospital for over two hours on Friday. The agitators kept the body on the road and refused to cremate it until action was taken against the cops.
The cops against whom the action was taken have been identified as assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Jaskaran Singh, in-charge at Kochar Market police post, and constable Mandeep Singh.
The agitators started gathering outside the Fortis Hospital around 1.45pm and blocked the traffic from both sides. Around 4.15pm, cops tried to convince them to lift the blockade but to no avail. Later when the police told them that the police commissioner had transferred two cops to police lines, the agitators lifted the blockade.
‘MY SON WAS THRASHED BRUTALLY’
Vinod Shukla, the father of deceased, said that cops at Kochar Market police post had implicated Deepak in a vehicle-lifting case and tortured him in custody. “They thrashed my son so brutally that it led to his death,” he said while demanding action against the cops.
He said that on February 22, police had called Deepak’s wife Preeti and informed her about his arrest in a vehicle-lifting case. “An ASI of the police post said that Deepak would be released if we pay a bribe of ₹1.15 lakh. We could manage to arrange only ₹25,000. But even after taking the money, they lodged an FIR against my son,” said Shukla.
“On February 24, my son was produced in the court. Though the court sent him to judicial remand, cops took him to the police post and sent him to jail.Two days later, when I went to meet Deepak, I found that he was unable to walk properly. He told me that cops had tortured him and asked me to take him to a hospital,” he said, adding that the next day around 6am, he got a call from the jail that Deepak had died.
Assistant commissioner of police Jatinder Singh said that judicial investigation is on and ASI Jaskaran Singh and constable Mandeep Singh have been sent to police lines.