Two constables, Honnappa and Vedamurthy, have been directed to pay Rs 5 lakh each to the wife of a man who was killed in police custody.
The High Court on Wednesday directed the government to pay compensation of Rs 10 lakh after collecting the sum from the two constables, who are convicted of killing lorry cleaner Kondapalli Prasad by thrashing him.
Justice Mohan Shanthangoudar directed that the compensation be paid to Prasad’s wife Saraswathi by the constables, as they have to know the value of life.
“This has to be a lesson for others who take the law into their hands,’’ he said.
Prasad, a native of Andhra Pradesh, was working as a lorry cleaner in Bellary. He was picked up by the Cowl Bazaar Police in Bellary for alleged theft on January 23, 2007. He died in the police station the following day.
Investigation showed that Prasad was not involved in the theft, and the postmortem showed that he died due to torture in custody.