Following the custodial death of a 21-year-old Muslim man, identified as Altaf, in Uttar Pradesh's Kasganj district, an FIR of murder was registered against unidentified policemen at Kasganj Kotwali on Saturday, 13 November.
As per reports, the FIR was registered after the father of the deceased filed a complaint.
Earlier, a written complaint claiming to be the one given by Altaf's father Chand Miya to the police was shared on social media. This complaint in question carried names of at least five police men, however, those names are missing in the existing FIR.
As per Kasganj Superintendent of Police Rohan Pramod Botre, the complaint that they received differed from the one that emerged on social media.
Speaking to The Quint, he said that they later received a fresh complaint which will be included in the existing FIR.
The names mentioned are station house officer Virendra Singh Indolia, sub-inspector Chandresh Gautam, sub-inspector Vikas Kumar, head moharrir (clerk) Dhanendra Singh, and constable Saurabh Solanki.
According to a report by IANS, all five police personnel were suspended for "negligence on duty" after news of Altaf's death in custody spread.
Prior to the filing of the FIR, The Quint had asked Kasganj SP Rohan Pramod Botre why a case was not registered against the policemen. In response to the same, the SP said that they had not received any written complaint from the family of the victim.
What the FIR Says
As per the FIR, Altaf was called in for questioning to police station around 8 PM on Monday.
"I followed him to the station but was sent back. The next day, we were called to the hospital and told that Altaf ended his life by hanging himself in the washroom of Sadar police station," Chand Miya said in the FIR.
He asserted in the document, "It is not possible for a 5-feet-tall boy to hang from a two feet high water tap in that police station. My son has been murdered and there is a conspiracy ."
Further, he alleged that officials coerced him to imprint a thump impression on a letter absolving the police of the responsibility of a custodial death.
BACKGROUND
Several loopholes have emerged in the police's theory regarding the sequence of events leading to Altaf's detention and death in custody.
The police had allegedly taken the youth, Altaf, accused of running away with a woman, to the Sadar police station for questioning on 8 November.
While Altaf’s family allege that he was hanged by the police while in lock-up, the police had dubbed it a case of suicide.
Sources close to The Quint claimed Altaf's detention on 8 November was not recorded in the police station's general diary.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)