Madhubani/Patna: Jan Suraaj Party founder and Bankipur MLA Prashant Kishor visited Madhubani on Saturday to meet the family of Roshan Yadav, who died while in jail custody, and sought an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his arrest and death.
Kishor met Yadav’s family to gather details before accompanying them to meet Madhubani SSP Yogendra Kumar.
The two sides have given conflicting accounts of how Yadav died. The family alleges that he was assaulted and tortured while in police custody, while the police and administration maintain that he died by suicide in custody.
Family Alleges Illegal Detention And Torture
According to the account presented by the family, police from Rahika police station picked up Yadav on May 27 and kept him at the police station for three days without providing the family with written information about his detention.
After repeated efforts, the family was allowed to meet him at the police station on May 30. They allege that Yadav told them he had been severely beaten and subjected to electric shocks while in custody.
The family further alleged that although he was released on the morning of May 31, he was arrested again about half an hour later. He was subsequently produced before a court and remanded to the divisional jail under the Arms Act.
The family alleges that Yadav was assaulted both at the Rahika police station and later in the divisional jail.
Police Maintain Death Was Suicide
Kishor said the police version was that Yadav had been arrested in connection with a shooting incident under the Arms Act and subsequently died in custody after about two months and 10 days.
According to Kishor, SSP Yogendra Kumar said the investigation into the death would be conducted under the supervision of the district magistrate in accordance with National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) guidelines, with a report to be submitted to the NHRC.
The post-mortem report is expected within two to three days, Kishor said.
He noted that the report would be important in determining the circumstances of Yadav’s death, given the conflicting claims of suicide by the authorities and death following assault by the family.
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Inquiry Into May 27 Arrest Promised
Kishor also raised questions over the circumstances of Yadav’s initial detention.
He said the SSP had assured the family that an inquiry would examine why Yadav was arrested on May 27, why the family was allegedly not informed in writing, and why he was kept at the Rahika police station without being produced before a court.
The inquiry will also examine the family’s allegations of assault and torture, Kishor said.
According to the Jan Suraaj leader, the SSP assured him that responsibility would be fixed and action taken against officials found at fault within 10 days, with August 25 set as the deadline.
Kishor said he would return to meet the SSP after 10 days if action was not taken.
The circumstances surrounding Yadav’s death are expected to become clearer once the post-mortem findings and the administrative inquiry are completed.
