A man allegedly died in police custody in the Birbhum district of West Bengal. The incident took place in Muchipara (also known as Darjipara) area in the Bolpur sub-division of Birbhum district. Human rights activists alleged that on August 11, Raju Thanda (28), a member of the Dalit community, was picked up by the Bolpur police from his in-laws’ house for his suspected involvement in a theft and was “tortured in custody”.
Thanda is originally a resident of Durgapur in the neighbouring Bardhaman district. Superintendent of Police of Birbhum, N. Sudheer Kumar, refused to comment on the matter, saying he “was on leave” during the time of the incident.
Locals said that last Sunday, the body was found in the Bolpur Sub-Divisional hospital. A mob then assembled in front of the Bolpur police station with the body and staged a demonstration. It turned violent when the police officials allegedly refused to meet the locals.
‘Rubber bullets fired’“When denied entry into the police station, the mob started pelting stones at the police and vandalised vehicles inside the compound. Later, the police resorted to lathi-charge and fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowd,” said a resident.
In a letter to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Kirity Roy, the secretary of a human rights organisation, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha, reiterated the same allegation and said the police also fired rubber bullets “in which five relatives [of the deceased], including two women, were injured.”
Last week, family members of the victim alleged that there were several bruises on Thanda’s body. However, activists said the family members eventually refused to file any police compliant as they were “threatened” by the local Trinamool Congress leadership.
