Three days after a man took his life in a village in Telangana's Nizamabad district, his body was removed on Tuesday and was shifted for autopsy following an assurance by the authorities that justice will be done to his family.
Tension prevailed in Nayavanandi village as people continued to resist the police's attempt to shift the body of T Gangadhar for autopsy, demanding justice for the family. The 43-year-old had taken his life due to alleged harassment by the police in connection with the suspicious death of a woman.
The villagers were demanding that Gangadhar's family be paid a compensation of Rs 25 lakh and employment be provided to one eligible family member. Gangadhar’s body was found on Sunday. The police had questioned him in connection with the death of a woman under suspicious circumstances. His relatives and villagers alleged that the police harassed him and beat him up. Unable to bear the alleged harassment and torture, Gangadhar died by suicide, they alleged.
Following protests by the villagers, Inspector General (Nizamabad Range) N Shivashankar Reddy constituted a special team to probe Gangadhar's suicide.
Several top officials held talks with the villagers and finally on Tuesday they allowed the police to shift the body.
A woman farmer named P Mamatha was found dead under suspicious circumstances at her agricultural land on October 3 in the same village. As part of the investigations into the case, the police had interrogated Gangadhar a few times.
Gangadhar's wife Mallavva alleged that the police had brutally beaten up her husband during interrogation to force him to confess to the crime.
According to the police, they were questioning few suspects, including Gangadhar. They had also moved the court, seeking permission for narco analysis test on the accused but in the meantime Gangadhar committed suicide.
Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri visited Gangadhar's house and consoled his family. He also spoke to Director General of Police Mahendar Reddy on the matter. The BJP leader alleged that Gangadhar's suicide was the result of police brutality, and claimed that a supporter of the local TRS MLA was involved in the woman's death.
In October, some locals had staged a protest in front of the police station, alleging that the officials investigating Mamatha's death were not looking into a few suspects because of their political connections.