Dalit youth found dead inside police station in UP, family says he was tortured, hanging staged

The case has been registered under BNS sections 103(1) (murder) and 351(3) (criminal intimidation), along with provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Policemen and family members of a minor girl were booked for murder and under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after a Dalit youth was found hanging inside a room of Patti police station in Pratapgarh district of Uttar Pradesh on Monday.

The youth was facing an abduction case filed by the girl’s father after two had allegedly eloped.

Pratapgarh Superintendent of Police Deepak Bhukar suspended Patti SHO Anand Pal Singh and investigating officer Omkar Singh for alleged negligence in the discharge of their duties.

According to Patti Circle Officer Pradeep Singh, the girl’s father had lodged a case alleging that the youth had abducted his 17-year-old daughter with the intention of marrying her. The two belong to the same village. The girl was recovered from Ghaziabad and her statements were recorded before the police and a magistrate.  “She stated that she had gone with the youth on her own volition and wanted to live with him. Since she is a minor, the law does not allow her to take this decision until she is a major,” Singh told The Indian Express.

The youth had not been arrested and walked into the police station on Monday, the CO said. He was not kept in the lock-up but was sitting in a room where the investigation officer was questioning him about the abduction case. The officer left the room for some work and, on returning, found the youth handing from an iron rod attached to a bathroom ventilator, Singh said.

According to police, the youth used a strip apparently torn from a blanket in the room. He was taken to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Singh said the SHO and the sub-inspector were suspended as they were responsible for keeping watch on the accused while he was at the police station.

The CO said that this was the second time the youth and the girl had allegedly eloped. On the earlier occasion too, the girl was recovered and had said that she had left on her own and wanted to live with the youth. She was handed over to her parents as she was was a minor.

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This time, after the girl was recovered, the youth went to the police station and claimed that they had married and were living as a married couple, Singh said.

The youth’s family, however, alleged that he had been tortured by the police at the instance of the girl’s father and that the hanging was staged to conceal his death. On the basis of the family’s complaint, the policemen and members of the girl’s family were booked, the CO said. “The investigation will establish the allegations against them,” he added.

The case has been registered under BNS sections 103(1) (murder) and 351(3) (criminal intimidation), along with provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The Pratapgarh Police said CCTV footage and other evidence had been secured. The District Magistrate has recommended a magisterial inquiry into the death.

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Chandrashekhar Azad, Nagina MP and president of the Azad Samaj Party, demanded strict action against those accused by the youth’s family and sought a high-level and impartial investigation in a post on X.