RANCHI: Amid the horrific stabbing of gangster Tillu Tajpuriya in high-security Tihar jail on Tuesday, a 35-year-old accused of mob lynching was allegedly thrashed to death by the policemen under judicial custody in Latehar jail. The incident took place on Saturday, three days day after the accused was sent to judicial custody, for which, an FIR has been lodged against five policemen.
Initially, doctors claimed that the man died of an epilepsy attack but when the family members noticed several marks on the body, they staged a dharna demanding FIR against those responsible for the alleged killing of accused Sendhu Munda. The family members were adamant that they will not cremate the body until an FIR was lodged.
Later, on the basis of the statement of the Jail Superintendent, an FIR was lodged against five policemen under section 304/34 of IPC at Latehar Police Station. Police personnel named in the FIR include Shankar Munda, Chandrashekhar Singh, Deep Narayan, Pradeep Prajapati and Manohar Barla.
According to the application written by Jail Superintendent, after looking into the matter, it was found through CCTV footage that the five policemen thrashed Sendhu Munda badly due to which his condition deteriorated and was referred to Sadar Hospital by the medical officer at the jail. He died during treatment.
Sendhu Munda an under-trial prisoner on the charges of beating an old couple to death allegedly for practising witchcraft, died during treatment in a hospital on Saturday. “When my sister-in-law met my brother in jail on May 5, he was quite healthy, but at around 2 pm on May 6, she was told that he died of an epilepsy attack. When we saw his dead body, it had several injury marks, suggesting that he was killed by the jail superintendent and other policemen by beating him badly inside the jail with boots, punches and sticks,” said Sendhu’s Brother Dilip Munda. A case of murder must be lodged against those involved in the killing of Sendhu Munda, he added.