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UP custodial death: Dalit man died of heart attack, says autopsy report
The sanitation worker, Arun Valmiki, was arrested by the police in connection with the theft of ₹25 lakh from the warehouse of Jagdishpura police station in Agra on Sunday.
The post-mortem report of a sanitation worker, who died in the police custody after being arrested in connection with a theft of ₹25 lakh from a warehouse, showed heart attack as the cause of his death, the Uttar Pradesh police said on Thursday.
“In compliance with the norms laid down by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the post-mortem was conducted by a panel of doctors. According to the post-mortem report, the cause of death is myocardial infarction (heart attack),” said Agra senior superintendent of police (SSP) Muniraj G.
“Further investigation in the matter is underway,” the SSP added.
The sanitation worker, Arun Valmiki, was arrested by the police in connection with the theft of ₹25 lakh from the warehouse of Jagdishpura police station in Agra on Sunday (October 17). He was accused of stealing the money on Saturday night from the “malkhana” (a storage house where items confiscated by police are kept) of the Jagdishpura police station, where he worked as a cleaner. Valmiki died in police custody on Tuesday night.
“During questioning, he confessed to the crime. Police recovered ₹15 lakh from his home. During recovery, he fell ill. Police and his family rushed him to the hospital. The doctor declared him brought dead. An FIR has been registered,” the Agra SSP had earlier said.
Citing the post-mortem report, people aware of the developments and speaking on condition of anonymity said there were some injury marks on the body of the deceased, but were not serious enough to have caused his death. They, however, could not ascertain if these injury marks, including blue marks on the hips and scratch on legs, were recent or old.
Meanwhile, additional director general of police (Agra) Rajiv Krishna said, “Our officers are in contact with his family. They’re cooperating. Action will be taken if there was any negligence. The family has filed a complaint. They suspect he was beaten up by the police following which he died. FIR was registered and the matter will be probed.”
(With agency inputs)
