Victim’s son recounts dad’s torture

MEERUT: “They rained lathi blows on him, gave him electric shocks, stabbed him with a screwdriver and beat him with a phatta (leather belt).” This is how Rahul, the 12-year-old son of farmer Pradeep Tomar (who died in police custody in Pilkhua area of Hapur) recounted his father’s torture at the hands of the police.

In a video, which is now viral in social media, Rahul is seen narrating the horrifying tale. He says he was with his father when police picked him up from a toll plaza and locked him in a room of Chijarsi police post.

Rahul further says that when he cried and requested the cops to

leave his father, one of them put the barrel of a gun in his mouth and threatened him to keep quiet.

“When I continued crying, they gave me a packet of chips to console me and told me to not speak about it to anyone,” he says. He also says that they were speaking to a girl on phone and kept on consuming liquor and beating his father. “They were more than 10 in number and also slapped me when I continued crying,” he says.

ASP of Hapur Santosh Mishra said what the boy said in the ideo was already in the FIR.

To recall, Pradeep Tomar, a resident of Lakhan village in Pilkhua area of Hapur was picked up by police on Sunday evening for interrogation in a murder case. He was allegedly mercilessly beaten and was admitted to Meerut Medical College hospital late on Sunday night when his condition deteriorated. But doctors claimed that he was brought dead. The next day, his family members and villagers staged a protest in Meerut and demanded arrest of the errant cops after registering a case of murder against them. Taking cognisance of the incident, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) also issued notice to the state government.

A case of murder was registered against the circle officer of Pilkhua, inspector Pilkhua Kotwali, chowki in charge of Chijarsi police check post and four constables on Thursday on the direction of IG of Meerut Range Alok Singh.