Police confirm first death in Khargone riots after man's body found in Indore hospital

A 30-year-old man who went missing during communal clashes in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone city on Ram Navami has become the first fatality of the violence but his death has raised allegations of a cover-up with his kin on Monday accusing the police of keeping his death under wraps for eight days.

The body of Ibresh Khan was kept at a government hospital in Indore, around 100km from here, for eight days after it was found in Khargone's Anand Nagar area as freezer facility was not available in the riot-hit city, police said.

The state government, however, has claimed a case of murder was registered on April 11 itself, a day after the riots broke out in Khargone during Ram Navami celebrations, following a postmortem on the body.

A police officer said that Ibresh Khan died due to serious injuries to his head caused by stones. Communal clashes had broken out in Khargone city on April 10 during a Ram Navami procession, leading to arson and stone-pelting, and imposition of a curfew. Superintendent of Police Siddharth Choudhary had received a bullet injury during the violence.

''An unidentified body was found in the night of communal violence in the Anand Nagar area of Khargone,'' In-charge Superintendent of Police (SP) Rohit Kashwani told reporters. He said since there was no freezer facility available in Khargone, the body was kept at the Indore government hospital after a postmortem. Kashwani said the family members of Ibresh Khan registered a missing person complaint on April 14.

''Ibresh Khan's body was handed over to his family members on Sunday after they identified him'', he said, adding further investigation was underway.

Kashwani said that Ibresh Khan died due to serious injuries to his head caused by stones. However, a kin of Ibresh Khan, a resident of the Islampura area, alleged a cover-up by the police.

Ibresh Khan's brother Ikhlaq Khan claimed that the deceased was seen in the custody of the police by some people on April 12. He alleged that the police informed him about Ibresh Khan's death and the whereabouts of his body only after he threatened to go to the media.

Ikhlaq Khan alleged that Ibresh Khan had gone to provide food for 'Iftar' (evening meal eaten by Muslims during Ramadan fasting) in the Anand Nagar area when he was hit by a stone. ''The people in Anand Nagar attacked my brother with weapons and crushed his head with a stone,'' he alleged while speaking to reporters.

Ikhlaq Khan also claimed that Ibresh Khan was seen in the custody of the police by some people on April 12 but these witnesses were not ready to depose. ''A policeman came to me on Sunday night and told me that Ibresh's body is kept in Indore,'' he said.

Ikhlaq Khan claimed that the condition of Ibresh Khan's body indicates that he was brutally attacked. ''While his one eye was broken there were cuts on his face and legs,'' he said. Ikhlaq Khan alleged that the police kept the family members in the dark about the whereabouts of his brother for eight days.

''They didn't disclose the whereabouts of my brother even after registering a missing person complaint. The police informed me about my brother's body only after I threatened to go to the media,'' he claimed. Meanwhile, state Home Minister Narottam Mishra said following the postmortem report, a case of murder was registered on April 11.

The body was unidentified at that time and later a missing complaint was lodged and subsequently the deceased was identified, he said and added further investigation was underway.

In reply to a question about some organisations threatening to go to courts against administrative actions post-violence, including demolition of ''illegal'' homes and shops of alleged riot accused in the city, Mishra said the state government has acted against rioters as per the law and those aggrieved are free to go to courts.

Meanwhile, the curfew was relaxed for four hours on Monday - from 12 pm to 2 pm and from 3 pm to 5 pm - following improvement in the situation in Khargone, officials said.

Stores selling milk, vegetables, provisions and medicines, among others, were allowed to remain open during the curfew relaxation hours.

Local residents were allowed to make purchases of essential items without using their vehicles, they said.

In a related development, a delegation of Muslim clerics on Monday called on Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary Iqbal Singh Bains and submitted a memorandum demanding setting up of a high-level committee to look into alleged selective actions of the police and the district administration after the riots.

The memorandum claimed some of about 200 people of the Muslim community, who were arrested in connection with the violence, have sustained fractures and their cause should be probed.

The delegation claimed a local resident, who died ''several years'' ago, figures in one of the FIRs registered against the rioters. This raises questions over the police action, it added.