Kin protest against cops in Gurdaspur

BATALA : A day after a man died under mysterious circumstances in police custody, dozens of people from Dhapai village on Sunday staged a dharna outside the Harchowal police post blaming the cops for his death.

Navdeep Singh (32) was arrested on July 16 for allegedly making illicit liquor and died on Saturday. The kin of the deceased placed his body in front of the police station, alleging that cops had tortured him in custody and when the he fell unconscious, they called a local medical practitioner who intentionally gave Navdeep spurious injections, leading to his death.

The deceased’s wife, Balwinder Kaur, said, “Navdeep had been in police custody since July 16 and the Harchowal police repeatedly tortured him.”

“Yesterday, I came to know that my husband was lying unconscious at the police post. I rushed to police station and saw a medical practitioner giving him some injections. I tried to persuade the policemen to take my husband to the hospital, but they did entertain my requests,” she alleged. Demanding strict action against the said doctor and policemen, the villagers threatened to continue their dharna outside the police post till a murder case is not registered against the accused.

Hargobindpur DSP Lakhbir Singh said Navdeep was not tortured. “He was in police custody for the last three days and on Saturday, when he felt uneasiness, he was taken to hospital. Later, he was presented in the Batala court, where he fell unconscious. He was rushed to hospital where he died.