Man's death in police custody: Woman, who gave statement against deceased, 'missing'

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The woman on whose statement police had detained a man for interrogation in a theft case is "missing" since Tuesday morning, the family members of Rajkumar Shaw, who died in custody at the Sinthee police station, alleged on Wednesday.

The family members of Shaw (53) alleged that the police had "taken Ashura Bibi away to an undisclosed place to hide the actual story behind the case".

The woman is "missing" since Tuesday morning from the night shelter, where she was staying, at ward no. 5 of borough no. 1, they alleged.

"We have not been able to trace Ashura Bibi since Tuesday morning. She has not been seen anywhere around the night shelter. The police has taken her away to an undisclosed place to hide the truth behind the incident," Shaw's younger son alleged.

"The police tried to take Ashura Bibi away through the backdoor of the Sinthee police station on Monday night. We caught them red-handed, after which she spoke to the media. But today, she has not been seen anywhere," he said.

It was learnt that the police went to the night shelter, looking for the woman in connection with their probe into the matter, on Tuesday evening.

Three policemen were booked and departmental proceedings initiated against them, following Shaw's death in police custody on Monday.

The deceased's family members had alleged that Shaw died due to torture by policemen. The police had denied the charges, saying Shaw was ill and he died due to cardiac arrest.

Shaw's relatives had ransacked the police station and also lodged a complaint against the policemen. A petition has also been filed in the Calcutta High Court, seeking a CBI probe into Shaw's death.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan and Justice Arijit Banerjee has directed the Wst Bengal government to submit an action-taken report and Shaw's post-mortem report on February 25, the next date of hearing of the petition.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that Shaw was a party member.

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