FIR filed against 2 MP cops after man dies in custody. They said he shot himself

Two policemen have been suspended and a FIR filed against them after a 38-year-old man arrested by them died of a gunshot injury on Sunday night. The policemen had claimed that Rajpati Kushwaha had shot himself from the service revolver of one of the two policemen. A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was registered against the policemen after protests by residents of a town in Madhya Pradesh’s Vindhya region. Satna district police chief Riyaz Iqbal was also shunted out by the state government.

The two policemen are Singhpur police station in-charge Vikram Pathak and constable Ashish Kumar, said Rewa zone inspector general (IG) of police Umesh Joga. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced the transfer of the district Superintendent of Police and Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia for Rajpati Kushwaha’s family.

Shivraj Singh Chouhan also said a magisterial inquiry had been ordered. “If any police personnel is found guilty in the inquiry the state government will not spare him and take strict action against him,” he said.

“An FIR has been registered against the police station in-charge Vikram Pathak and constable Ashish Kumar under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 348 (wrongful confinement) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Singhpur police station,” Rewa Umesh Joga said. The man had been detained for interrogation in a theft case.

The action followed protests led by Congress legislator Siddharth Kushwaha in Satna district, about 500 km north east of Bhopal, who alleged the police had killed the man.

Rajpati Kushwaha’s daughter, Shivani, said her father was being harassed for a long time. “He can’t kill himself because he was a brave person and told us that he would come back from the police station as he didn’t commit any crime,” the 18-year-old said.

Senior police officer Umesh Joga said Rajpati was called for questioning after a burglary was reported by the former village head of Narayapur village. He had alleged that the thief had stolen jewellery and a licensed rifle. “The former sarpanch in his written complaint expressed his doubt about involvement of Rajpati and two others in the crime. Police had interrogated Rajpati once last week. On Sunday, he was called again for interrogation to the police station,” Umesh Joga said.

“The SP Riyaz Iqbal informed me that during interrogation, Rajpati snatched the revolver of police station in-charge Vikram Pathak and shot himself in the forehead. He was taken to a private hospital from where he was referred to Sanjay Gandhi Medical College, Rewa where he succumbed to bullet injuries,” said Joga.