Cops lodge murder case against OC in SSKM death

KOLKATA: Days after 18-year-old Fardeen Khan died at SSKM and his family claimed it was a custodial killing in the Lalbazar central lock-up, the Bhowanipore police lodged a murder case after a complaint in this regard. Interestingly, among the accused named is the OC and additional OC of the anti-snatching department and a host of other officers from both Lalbazar and the SSKM police outpost for causing the death.
“We have registered a case and will probe the entire incident to find out if any cop was involved in Fardeen’s death.We have followed the law to the core. There is already a separate magisterial inquiry which has been initiated in this case,” said a senior officer at Lalbazar. DC (south) Murlidhar Sharma said that among the “accused” is one Shahrukh, believed to be a police informer who helped cops nab Fardeen red-handed while he was snatching a phone inside the bus.
According to police sources, Khan was caught while trying to snatch the phone in a bus on Diamond Harbour Road near Government Mint at Majherhat on November 7.
The traffic cop who nabbed him took him to the New Alipore police who produced him in court. Khan was sent to judicial custody till November 17. Till then, Khan had not complained of any illness.
It was on November 16, a day before the expiry of judicial custody, that the anti-snatching section of detective department moved court to take Khan in their custody for questioning and was granted the same. The next day, the DD officials moved court all of a sudden saying they cannot question Khan any more as he was unwell and prayed he be sent to judicial custody. The court allowed DD to do so on November 17. But Alipore jail authorities refused to lodge Khan saying he needed hospitalization. The cops took him to SSKM Hospital, where he died a day later.