Gujarat: Family demands action against cops as man dies in hospital month after detention

A 28-year-old man died during treatment at a hospital in Ahmedabad on Sunday, nearly a month after his family alleged that he was tortured by three policemen in Gujarat's Botad town over a trivial issue. The family said they won't accept the body until a case is registered against the accused cops and they are arrested.

Superintendent of Police (SP) of Botad district Kishor Baloliya said that an inquiry into the matter was already underway, and the footage from CCTV cameras at the police station as well as the hospitals where he was treated was being collected as per the Gujarat High Court's direction.

One Kalubhai Usman succumbed to serious injuries while undergoing treatment at the civil hospital in Ahmedabad where he was referred to from a Bhavnagar hospital.

His family members said that he was detained on April 14 and taken to Botad town police station for questioning after he failed to provide the papers of his motorcycle. He was tortured by three policemen and allowed to go after his family members produced the papers, they alleged.

On April 17, he complained of headache and was rushed to a hospital at Botad, from where he was taken to Bhavnagar for treatment. Doctors at the Bhavnagar hospital referred him to civil hospital in Ahmedabad where he died on Sunday, they said.

Mubarak Ismael Ghanchi, the president of the Ghanchi community body, accused the police of detaining Usman on false pretext and thrashing him at the police station which resulted in fatal head injuries.

"On April 17, he complained of headache and was taken to a hospital in Botad where he underwent two operations. The police refused to take the complaint of his family members," he said.

SP Baloliya said that the man complained of health complications on the evening of April 17, three days after he was detained before being released. "In the meanwhile, he was fine and carried on with daily activities. His parents have alleged that the policemen thrashed him due to which he was hospitalised, and we initiated an inquiry on the matter,'' he said.

The Gujarat High Court on Friday passed an interim order on a plea filed by the Usman's family seeking action against the policemen and directed the superintendent of police to collect the CCTV footage of the police station as well as the two hospitals where he was treated, Baloliya said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)