CLC, victim's kin demand judicial probe into 'custodial' death

HYDERABAD: A day after 30-year-old autorickshaw driver A. Chiranjeevi, a Dalit, died in custody at the Tukaramgate police station, his family and Civil Liberties Committee (CLC) members on Thursday demanded that the government order a district magistrate-headed inquiry to unearth the facts behind the death.

CLC president Prof. Laxman Gaddam said that they had visited the residence of the victim and interacted with the family, who said Chiranjeevi was picked up and taken to the police station where they allegedly harassed the victim physically.
"It was unfortunate that Chiranjeevi died at a young age. Police violated the law by harassing the victim inside the police station. The family members were stopped at Gandhi Hospital when they went to see the body. Police made mistakes in handling a suspect in their custody and made false statements in connection with the death," he said.

Advocate G. Jabali demanded that the government mandate installation of CCTVs cameras inside all police stations to prevent custodial deaths.

"The Supreme Court has given directions for installing CCTVs inside police stations but the police have over a lakh of CCTVs at public places outside police stations. Even one is not inside the police station," the advocate said.

Chiranjeevi's kin Hasini, a law student, said that the police had brutally harassed Chiranjeevi and family members were denied entry into the mortuary.
Tukaramgate inspector R. Yellappa said that the postmortem had been done and his family members had performed final rites. Viscera samples have been collected and sent to the forensic lab.