Hyderabad: Amidst high security, and even before his family was traced, doctors performed the autopsy of Dasari Premchand, who died in the custody of Sanathnagar police on Wednesday. The autopsy report will be available in a fortnight.
His family members got the information of Premchand’s death on Thursday afternoon and alleged that he could have died of police torture. A case of custodial death was registered at the Yadadri police station, where Premchand was taken by the cops for property recovery. Premchand’s family planned to stage a protest in front of the Sanathnagar police station demanding justice but were forced to withdraw it.
Premchand’s younger brother Dasari Santosh said his brother, an autorickshaw driver, was not seen for a week. They did not worry, as he used to frequently go away from home. Mr Santosh said, he came to know through neighbours that his brother had died in custody. He said Premchand used to consume alcohol but had no health issues. “How can a person who is healthy die of a stroke or some health problem? I strongly suspect that he was badly tortured while in police custody,” Mr Santosh said.
His wife claimed that three men in plain clothes claiming to be crime sleuths from Sanathnagar police had collected family details and walked away without giving any information.
In the complaint filed in the case, Sanathnagar detective inspector Bhoopathi stated that during inquiry into a theft case, Premchand was picked up from Tarnaka and confessed in the presence of two witnesses. He said he had given over Rs 2 lakh to a shop in Yadadri. A team accompanied Premchand to recover cash. After reaching there, Premchand got confused while identifying the shop, the complaint said.
Premchand complained of giddiness and police bought him a plate of idlis. He collapsed while eating it and was taken to a registered medical practitioner. He was found to be critical and rushed to the Bhongir Government hospital where he was declared brought dead.
