Bengaluru: Human rights organisations on Friday released a fact-finding report on the custodial death of a man in Davangere district’s Channagiri town on May 24 this year.
According to the report, Adil, a 30-year-old carpenter by profession, collapsed inside the Channagiri police station and died, shortly after being detained for ‘matka’ gambling.
The death triggered large-scale violent protests. Eleven police officers were injured and police vehicles were damaged during stone throwing by some protesters.
Police filed six FIRs against 300 people for unlawful assembly, rioting and voluntarily causing hurt.
While the police maintain that local residents went on a rampage after learning about Adil’s death, the fact-finding report quotes witnesses as saying that violence broke out after the cops lathi-charged the peaceful
protesters.
The report has been prepared by the People’s Association for Civil Society (PUCL), the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), Bahutva Karnataka and the All India Lawyers Association for Justice (AILAJ). It demands a fair and transparent investigation into Adil’s arrest and subsequent death, comprehensive compensation for his family and quashing of criminal proceedings against the protestors.
Davangere Nizamuddin, District Secretary, APCR, said: “The family of the deceased was unaware about the reasons behind his arrest. The lack of CCTV footage inside the police station worsened the situation.”
Ameya Bokil, a member of AILAJ, said the offence for which the deceased was arrested was non-cognisable, meaning his arrest should not have been made without a warrant.
Kishor Govinda, from the PUCL, said nearly 2,000 people gathered at the police station demanding answers. “Police arrested 47 people, many of whom were not even present in the area at the time, as related by their family members. Many of them come from remote villages and some were the sole breadwinners of their families,” he said.
Published 30 August 2024, 23:57 IST