50-YR-OLD BEATEN UP BY POLICE FOR FLOUTING NORMS DIES; PROBE ON

RANCHI: A case has been filed after a 50-year-old man died allegedly after police personnel thrashed him for violating the Covid lockdown in Hazaribag district of Jharkhand on Thursday, officials said on Friday.

According to officials, the deceased, identified as Chakkan Bhuinyan, his wife, Babita Devi, and his younger brother Shankar Bhuinyan, were on their way to a wedding on Thursday when the incident took place. The deceased was a resident of Machla village in the district.

“On our way to Karma village (around 1km from Machla village), a patrolling police vehicle came and stopped in front of our bike. We told them that we were going to attend a wedding ceremony, but they started beating my husband with sticks. He died on the spot,” Devi said in her complaint filed at the Chouparan police station on Friday.

The Jharkhand government has imposed a complete lockdown in the state till May 6 amid a devastating surge of Covid-19.

Karma village head Rajdev Yadav said that the locals in the area rushed Bhuinyan to a hospital where he was declared brought dead. “After the brutal thrashing, police left Bhuiyan on the street. We took him to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.”

Barhi deputy superintendent of police Nazir Akhtar said that a probe in the matter has been initiated. “The body of the deceased was sent to Hazaribagh on Friday for postmortem examination... Action will be taken if anyone is found guilty,” Akhtar said.