Man Dies in Police Custody in Assam, Two Cops Suspended

Arshab Ali, deceased was detained along with four other people for a mobile theft case and was taken to the Khelmati station on Wednesday night. Later on, he died and tensions erupted as numerous angry people surrounded the police station on Thursday morning, demanding answers.

“The case was registered in the North Lakhimpur police station. Concerning this, a team from the Khelmati police outpost detained five people from the West Chandmari area and took them to the outpost around 11 pm. There was information that there was a chance for recovery of a laptop from the Bongalmora area. As the police were preparing to leave, Arshab Ali, who was sitting on a bench, fell over and became unconscious. A car from the outpost immediately took him to the Lakhimpur Medical College but he was declared dead there,” said a police officer from the district to a leading newspaper.

Although the other two detainees were the main accused in the case, The other three including Arshab Ali were co-accused as “receivers of stolen property,” said the police, which means that they had allegedly purchased the stolen mobile phones.

On Thursday morning, the police announced they were looking into the custodial death. DGP G.P Singh said that the in charge of the police station, Dipanker Chiangmai, and the night security guard on duty have been suspended and an inquiry has been ordered which will be headed by SP of Biswanath district.