Lucknow: The sudden death of a 29-year-old Dalit man in a PRV van while he was being taken to the police station after being picked from a gambling den in Vikasnagar on Friday night has provoked uproar.
The police have maintained that the death was caused by cardiac arrest but the family accuses him of being tortured and have registered an FIR against four cops, including one identified and three unidentified, on Sunday.
The deceased was identified as Aman Gautam, a resident of Vikasnagar, Sector 8.
CCTV footage from the day of the incident, which has gone viral, shows Aman along with others being escorted by the police.
According to the police, the incident took place when they were informed about a group of men gambling in the area. The police reached the scene to apprehend them.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Zone, Raveena Tyagi, who also heads UP 112 operations in Lucknow, said, “On the night of Oct 11, UP 112 PRV-4830 received information that some people were gambling in Dr Ambedkar Park, in Sector-8 of Vikasnagar. As soon as the information was received, PRV-4830 reached the spot. On seeing the police vehicle, the people gambling started running away. Two persons, Sonu Bansal and Aman Gautam, were caught by PRV personnel and made to sit in the vehicle to bring them to the police station for questioning. While sitting in the vehicle, Aman Kumar’s health suddenly started deteriorating, on seeing which the personnel of PRV-4830 immediately took him to the hospital for treatment, where the doctors declared him dead.”
The police have denied all the allegations related to negligence hurled by the deceased family.
Tyagi, while mentioning the post-mortem report of the deceased, said that it was conducted by a panel of three doctors. No visible injury was found on the body, and the cause of death was determined to be a heart attack (cardiogenic shock).
“Further legal action is being taken in the matter,” she said.
In the FIR, one Shailendra Singh and three unidentified individuals have been named.
The charges under BNS 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 352 (intentional insult), and sections 3(1)(d) and 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, have been slapped.
Aman Gautam’s wife, Roshni, said that on Friday around 9pm, her husband was sitting with some of his friends in the neighbourhood when suddenly the police van arrived. The police surrounded them and started questioning them.
“They started abusing and beating him so much that he fainted. After this, the policemen got scared and took him to Mahanagar Civil Hospital in their car. When the doctors there refused to treat him, they took him to Lohia Hospital, where the doctors declared him dead,” said Aman’s wife.
Aman Gautam worked as an electrician and has left behind his wife, Roshni, and their three-year-old daughter, Ananya.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav sent a delegation to the victim’s residence, led by Mohanlalganj MP RK Chaudhary. BSP Chief Mayawati criticised the govt for the incident and demanded compensation for the family and strict action against the culprits.
Azad Samaj Party Chief Chandrashekhar Azad, who also visited the family, termed the incident a murder by a policeman and said the life of a Dalit is even cheaper than pulses in UP.