Vinod, a 23-year-old labourer died in police custody after he was arrested on Wednesday, January 4, by the Cottonpet police in Bengaluru. Vinod was a resident of Jolly Mohalla area in KR Market and lived with his family. A local women’s organisation, Slum Mahila Sanghatane filed a complaint with the Karnataka State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes asking the commission to look into the case. While the police claimed to have arrested Vinod at 4 pm on January 4, the family says that Vinod was picked up much earlier at 12.30 pm.
Vinod’s family alleged they waited at the hospital for hours, but did not receive information about the cause of his death. Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), Laxman B Nimbargi, confirmed to TNM that the family had seen the body. However, when TNM reached out to the family, they denied having seen Vinod’s body. “We have been waiting here since afternoon, but the doctors have not told us anything about how he died. Around 6.30 in the evening, the police even took Vinod’s body in an ambulance to bury, and we were not informed then either. We’ve been constantly arguing with them to let us at least cremate my brother but the police have been beating anyone who tries to enter the burial ground,” alleged Vinod’s brother, Subramani. They alleged that the police took the body of Vinod to a burial ground on Mysore road.
According to the complaint filed with the SC/ST Commission, Vinod had gone to paint a house with his friends when three police officers came to arrest him on January 4 at 12.30 pm. The next day at 5 am, three police officers came in search of Vinod’s mother and informed her that Vinod’s medical condition was very serious and took her to the police station. The complaint also stated that locals found out from a person from Victoria Hospital that Vinod’s body was in the hospital mortuary and the body showed signs of injuries on the head.
“Vinod is an accused in a 2017 case, and he was not attending court proceedings. Therefore, a non-bailable warrant was issued for him after which the Cottonpet police arrested him at 4 pm on January 4 and were going to produce him at court. While in custody, he slept after eating but did not wake up when the station house officer tried to wake him up at 3.30 am during regular checks. Vinod was then taken to Victoria Hospital where the doctors pronounced him dead. We have registered a case of custodial death and will hand over the case to CID,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (West), Laxman B Nimbargi.