A 35-year-old Dalit man, taken in for theft, was found dead while in the custody of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) in Uttar Pradesh‘s Gonda district. The incident prompted the suspension of three officials, who have also been booked for murder.

The victim, Sanjay Kumar Sonkar’s family, has claimed that his death was a result of custodial torture.

They alleged that he was beaten severely by the RPF personnel and was given electric shocks during interrogation. The officers reportedly placed the body in the mortuary without informing them.

The RPF had detained him on Tuesday, November 4, in connection with a recent oil theft case from a goods train at Barua Chak railway station.

Soon after, Sonkar was rushed to the government medical college by the RPF officials, where he was declared dead.

Three officers suspended

Sub-inspectors Surendra Kumar and Karan Singh Yadave, along with constable Amit Kumar Yadav, have been suspended. RPF senior commandant Chadra Mohan Mishra confirmed that a departmental probe was initiated into the custodial death charges.

Crime inspector of Gonda City Kotwali police station, Sabhajeet Singh, verified that a murder case has also been registered against the three officers.

Singh stated that the preliminary medical report from the attending doctor confirmed that Sonkar was dead when he arrived at the hospital.

Meanwhile, RPF senior commandant Mishra stated that the RPF team was led to Sonkar during the investigation of the oil theft case. The stolen oil was procured from the accused victim’s possession on the same day.

According to The Indian Express, Mishra also claimed that the accused’s condition deteriorated while they were conducting the recovery procedure. He was immediately transported to the hospital, where he later died.

The circle officer (CO) of Gonda City said that the initial autopsy report was inconclusive, stating that the “cause of death is not ascertained.” However, the viscera were preserved for forensic tests to investigate further. The CO also clarified that the body showed no clear signs of injury, other than “one or two abrasions”, which cannot be a cause for death.