Raipur : A 41-year-old man arrested in connection with a cheating case died in police custody in Chhattisgarh’s Dhamtari district, triggering allegations of police brutality/
Durgesh Katholia, a resident of Bhawarmara village in Rajnandgaon district, was arrested on Monday and produced before a local court in Dhamtari which remanded him in police custody.
According to the police, Katholia fell ill and his condition deteriorated hours later and was rushed to the district hospital, where doctors declared him dead. “The exact cause of death is yet to be confirmed as we await the post-mortem report. However, prima facie, it appears he suffered a heart attack,” a police officer said.
Arjuni police station’s Station House Officer (SHO), Sunny Dubey, was suspended following the custody death and an inquiry ordered.
Katholia was accused of duping around 50 farmers in Dhamtari district who alleged that he collected paddy from them on the promise of paying higher than the government-fixed rate but didn’t make any payments.
Police said similar complaints were registered against him in Balod, Rajnandgaon, Gariaband, and Balaghat districts.
Katholia’s family claimed that he was tortured in custody. “We were not informed about his arrest or court proceedings. If he did something wrong, the law should have punished him. The police had no right to kill him,” his wife Durga Devi said, participating in a protest outside the district hospital where her husband’s body was kept.
{{/usCountry}}Katholia’s family claimed that he was tortured in custody. “We were not informed about his arrest or court proceedings. If he did something wrong, the law should have punished him. The police had no right to kill him,” his wife Durga Devi said, participating in a protest outside the district hospital where her husband’s body was kept.
{{/usCountry}}His father, Laxman Katholia, said the police arrested his son from Durg and brought him to Rajnandgaon. “They searched our house and found nothing. Yet, they assaulted him with an iron chain in front of us and denied him water. If they did this at home, what must they have done at the police station?” he asked.
Congress leaders joined the protest and criticised the Chhattisgarh police for the death.
“A man from Rajnandgaon has died due to police torture in Dhamtari. This is a serious lapse in law and order,” Chhattisgarh Congress’s communication wing chief, Sushil Anand Shukla said, calling for a judicial probe into the matter.