Probe ordered into custody death in Uttar Pradesh

LUCKNOW - A magisterial probe was Thursday ordered into the death of a man in a police lock-up in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district, police said.

Balistar, who died Wednesday night in the Nababad police station, was picked up by the sleuths of the Special Operations Group (SOG) earlier in the same day in connection with a robbery case.

While police station officials claimed Balistar committed suicide, his family members alleged he died of police torture.

“Balistar was brutally assaulted by the policemen, who even did not allow us to meet him after his condition deteriorated in the lock-up,” Balistar’s sister Zareena told reporters Thursday in Jhansi, some 300 km from Lucknow.

“In order to conceal their crime, policemen took my brother to a hospital after he had died. Later, we were told that Balistar committed suicide,” she added.

Senior Superintendent of Police V.K. Dohre said reporters: “The magisterial enquiry would bring the true picture to the fore. If anyone’s involvement is found in Balistar’s death, strict action would be taken against him.”