A jeweller in Nashik allegedly died on Tuesday while he was in custody of the Hyderabad police in connection with a series of thefts in the Telangana capital. The death kicked up a furore with the police stating that he had killed himself, while his kin claimed that it was murder.
The Cyberabad police in Hyderabad had arrested a man recently for house breaking thefts (HBTs) who told them that valuables stolen in these incidents were sold to Nashik-based jeweller Bodhu Birari (40), the official said.
"The Cyberabad police arrived in Nashik and detained Birari on Monday. They had kept him in a state-run rest house in Gadkari Chowk in Nashik and they were planning to take him to Telangana. It is alleged Birari jumped off the fourth floor of the rest house and killed himself on Tuesday morning," the Mumbai Naka police station official said.
Police officials said that he excused himself during questioning, to drink a glass of water, when he took his own life.
Meanwhile, relatives of Birari said it was not a case of suicide but murder and asked Nashik police authorities to arrest the Hyderabad police team that had detained him.
They protested at the Nashik Civil Hospital where Birari's body was taken by Mumbai Naka police for conducting a post-mortem. After the autopsy, his body was handed over to the family.
According to media reports, as they staged a protest, the family members were given an assurance of a detailed investigation into Birari's death by Nashik Police Commissioner Vishwas Nangare Patil.
A Nashik District Jewellers Association functionary said its members would keep their shops closed on Wednesday to protest the death and as a mark of solidarity with Birari's family.
PTI inputs