Protests erupt in Sambhal after 40-year-old man dies in custody, family alleges torture

A 40-year-old man died in custody on Monday shortly after being taken to a police outpost in the town of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, sparking protests from his family and local residents, reported The Indian Express.

The man’s family claimed that he was tortured to death. Locals held a protest in front of the outpost, in response to which police personnel fled fearing a mob attack.

The police claimed that the man, Irfan died of a heart attack, and denied that he was tortured in custody.

Personnel from the Rapid Action Force and the Nakhasa and Kotwali police stations were later deployed to restore order in the area.

The police had taken Irfan into custody after a relative filed a complaint accusing him of failing to repay a loan, The Hindu reported.

Irfan’s wife Reshma said that four police officers from the Raisatti outpost took her ailing husband away for interrogation, and then beat him up

“We pleaded with the police team that he was unwell and should at least be given time to take his medicine, but they did not listen,” she told the media. “They bundled him into a jeep. Had he taken his medicine, he might have survived. He was killed by the police.”

The Sambhal Police, while denying the allegations of custodial torture, claimed that…

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