Bihar man, 24, caught by residents on suspicion of theft dies in police custody

PATNA: A 24-year-old man beaten by a mob on suspicion of attempted burglary in Bihar’s Gaya district on Saturday died in police custody the following day, a senior district police officer said on Monday.

Gaya city superintendent of police (SP) Prerna Kumar said the deceased, Mohammad Shahzad, was arrested by the police on July 6 from the Banke Gali locality by the Kotwali police on charges that he was caught committing a burglary by 4-5 residents past Friday midnight.

The group allegedly thrashed him before handing him over to the police. Police said a case was registered for theft and breaking into a house by Prawin Khatoon against Shahzad who was arrested.

Shahzad’s father Mohammad Iliyas blamed the people who caught and thrashed his son for his death, saying the police acted negligently in not getting him medical care in time. He also insisted that his son was falsely implicated in the theft case. Shahzad, he added, was on his way to his grandmother’s house at around Friday midnight when four-five people overpowered him and thrashed him mercilessly.

“On July 6, they handed over my son to the police on the allegation of theft,” he said.

“My son died due to thrashing by the people and delay in treatment because of the police,” Iliyas said, adding that they filed a complaint against the men who beat him but no action has been taken.

The city SP refuted the charge, insisting that Shahzad was taken to the Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital when he complained of stomach pain. He died at the hospital during treatment.

The officer added that a medical board was constituted to conduct the autopsy to ascertain the precise cause of death. Action will be taken after the postmortem report comes in.