Hours after the body of a 31-year-old murder undertrial was found at a police station in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district, officials on Sunday said the case primarily "points to suicide." Speaking to the media, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Arvind Thakur said, "Prima facie, it is a case of suicide; however, more details about the incident are being ascertained."
About the incident:
The police said the case first came to light after the body of the deceased, identified as Balkrishna Jatav alias Sunny, an undertrial in a murder case, was found hanging from a cloth tied to a window inside the Civil Lines police station around 5:30 am on Sunday. Notably, Sunny, originally from Gwalior, was arrested on Saturday under charges of allegedly killing his brother-in-law last December. However, his body was found hanging a day later.
Investigation underway:
Additional Superintendent of Police Arvind Thakur, speaking of the incident, stated that the judicial magistrate would probe the "custodial death" of the deceased as per the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission. However, the prima facie evidence in the investigation suggests it is a case of suicide, he added.
"The deceased's autopsy is being conducted by a panel of doctors. Action will be taken according to the evidence that comes forth," Thakur said.
Significantly, in the aftermath of the incident, a heavy police force has been deployed around the police station after Sunny’s family and acquaintances protested, alleging foul play in his death.
Congress targets state government:
Meanwhile, following the incident, the state Congress unit demanded the dismissal of the Morena Superintendent of Police.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari wrote, "Is it a crime to be a Dalit in MP? After Katni, another Dalit has come under police target."
"Why is your police killing Dalits in police stations? Why does the BJP MP government hate people of Ambedkar's ideology so much?" he added.
Significantly, the state Congress chief in his post demanded three actions: first, the immediate dismissal of Morena SP and filing of a murder case against the accused policemen; second, the Chief Minister, being the Home Minister, should publicly apologize to the entire Dalit community; and lastly, if the state fails to take action as per the law, he said he would go to Morena and go on a hunger strike.
It is important to note that Patwari's reference to the Katni incident followed the alleged beating of a Dalit woman and her grandson in police custody, which came to light this week after a video went viral. In that case, a woman police officer and other police personnel also faced action.
(With inputs from PTI)
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