BHOPAL: As many as nine policemen, including a police station in-charge, have been suspended in two separate cases of custodial death and custodial torture in Gwalior and Alirajpur districts of Madhya Pradesh in the past 24 hours.
Five policemen, including an assistant sub-inspector (ASI), have been suspended in connection with the custodial death of a farmer Suresh Rawat. All the five along with a home guard have also been booked for the murder of the farmer under Section 302 and Section 34 of IPC for crime with common intent, senior police officials in Gwalior said on Sunday.
According to reports from Gwalior, the farmer Suresh Rawat and a Dalit farmer Khemu Shakya had a fight over some issue on Saturday. Subsequently, both reached the Belgarha police station to submit complaints.
But instead of lodging complaints from both farmers, the Belgarha police booked Rawat under the SC/ST Atrocities Act on Shakya’s complaint.
Rawat was detained at the police station, where just a few hours later he was found hanging through the grill of the lock-up. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Rawat’s relatives alleged that the police at Belgarha police station physically tortured Rawat in custody tried to extort money from him to lodge his complaint.
Meanwhile, four policemen, including the station in-charge and three constables of Nanpur police station in Alirajpur district have been suspended for brutally torturing four youths and a teenager in custody and allegedly forcing them to drink urine late Friday night.