Youth dies in police custody; kin protest, allege foul play

The death of a youth allegedly in the Jandiala Guru police station here on Sunday triggered a strong protest by family members outside the police station, who alleged that he died due to police torture. They also blocked the Amritsar-Jalandhar national highway, causing severe traffic chaos on the road.

The deceased, Gurpreet Singh, alias Harman (24), was picked up by the Jandiala police on Saturday evening, allegedly in connection with an NDPS case. A police official said he died on Sunday morning while in custody after his health suddenly deteriorated. He was taken to a hospital at Manawala, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Superintendent of Police (Investigations) Aditya Warrior said, “As per Supreme Court and National Human Rights Commission guidelines, we have approached the authorities concerned for a magisterial inquiry into the custodial death.”

A medical board will conduct the autopsy to ascertain the cause of death.

Refuting allegations of torture, the SP said the entire police station complex is under CCTV surveillance monitored by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Supreme Court. He added that if anyone is found responsible for the death during the magisterial probe, strict action will be taken.

However, the family rejected the police version, claiming that Gurpreet Singh was perfectly fine until he was taken away from his residence.

Balwinder Kaur, mother of the deceased, said he had been detained for questioning after a quarrel in the village. She said he was not a drug addict and no drugs had been recovered from his possession. She added that his paternal uncles had met him in custody the previous night and found him normal. When the family went to the police station this morning to give him tea, they were told he had been taken to the hospital after falling ill.

Accusing the police of torture and foul play, the family blocked traffic on the main GT Road and raised slogans against the Punjab Police until 4 pm.