Dalit Man dies in Custody in Kanpur, All 14 Local Cops charged with Murder

Mangalore Today News Network

Lucknow Aug 04, 2016 : A murder case was filed against the personnel of an entire police post in Kanpur and all 14 policemen were suspended after a young Dalit man was found dead in custody.

 

Kamal Valmiki, who was around 20 years old, was brought to the police station two days ago for questioning about a theft in the area.

Today, Valmiki’s family was informed that he has died. His body was founding hanging in a room inside the police post. The family, however, alleges that he died due to severe beating.

While the postmortem report is yet to come, the family has alleged that the police tried to hush up the death and initially sent the body for postmortem under a false name. The local police countered, saying it was a case of identity goof-up and the man, Raju, had committed suicide while in custody.

"The family has said that a constable had taken Valmiki for questioning and then this incident took place," said Shalabh Mathur, a senior officer of the city police. "On basis of their complaint, we are registering a case of murder and the entire police chowki has been suspended. If other police personnel are involved we will act against them too," he added.

A case of kidnapping has also been filed against all the policemen because Raju, who the cops initially claimed had died, cannot be traced.

Later in the evening, there was tension in the area as Kamal Valmiki’s relatives and locals clashed with the police. The police had to use batons to control the mob.

The strong action against the policemen comes as the ruling Akhilesh Yadav government is under fire from the Congress and the BJP for the law and order situation in the state - an issue that is expected to spell trouble in view of next year’s assembly elections.

Last week, a woman and her 14-year-old daughter were gang-raped for three hours near the highway in Bulandshahr. The top rung of the local police were suspended after the news broke.

Dalits, who form 26% of the state’s electorate, are already in protest mode following the increasing instances of cow vigilantism across the country. In July, four young Dalit men were stripped to the wait, beaten and hauled around tied to an SUV after they were accused of cow slaughter in Gujarat’s Una.

BSP chief Mayawati, who has a huge votebank among the Dalit in Uttar Pradesh, has taken up the issue and will be visiting Una.

Save