Assam: Accused found dead in police lock-up, probe demanded

Dhemaji:  One Imran Ali (25) of Jonai Bazar in North Assam’s Dhemaji district, an accused in a theft case found dead at Jonai Police station lock-up on Sunday.

Police said they had detained him on Saturday evening after picking him up from the Abor Leku area on the outskirts of Jonai town in connection with a theft case. 

The police had to produce him before the judicial magistrate on Sunday but reportedly discovered him dead around 9 am that morning.

After completing the official formalities, the police forwarded his body to Dhemaji Civil Hospital for a postmortem.

Meanwhile, the deceased's family members stated that they had spoken to Imran on Saturday night and again at around 8 am on Sunday, and he appeared to be in good health.

Later, the police informed Imran's elder brother, Ibrahim Ali, who had brought food for him, that the police found him dead inside the lock-up.

Alleging that police have killed her son in their custody, the deceased's mother Halina Begam has demanded a high-level inquiry into the mysterious death.

The custodial death sparked a sensation in the Jonai area as several people of Jonai Bazar gathered at Jonai PS on Sunday morning to protest and demand an investigation into the custodial death.