Shopkeeper arrested for violating COVID-19 protocol dies in police custody
(Sourced from PTI)
A shopkeeper arrested by police for keeping his shop open during curfew died in police custody in Assam's Cachar district following which 500 people came out in the streets alleging that he was tortured and demanded action against police personnel, officials said on Saturday. The grocery shop owner of the Koratigram area under Rongpur Police Station was arrested along with a customer on Friday.
The 50-year-old shopkeeper, Babul Banik, complained of breathlessness in police custody and was rushed to Silchar Civil Hospital where doctors referred him to Silchar Medical College Hospital where he was declared dead. Following his death more than 500 people came out in the area, defying curfew orders, and demanded that the police personnel who had allegedly tortured him in custody be arrested immediately.
Senior police officials, including Cachar Superintendent of Police VC Chandrakant, rushed to the spot and assured the crowd that necessary action will be taken against those involved in the death once the postmortem report is received. If any police personnel is found to be guilty of torture, necessary action will be definitely taken, the SP Chandrakant said further.
The deceased's wife claimed that he did not suffer from any ailment and had not opened the shop during curfew time but had gone to bring sugar for the family. The situation though tense in the area is under control, police said. The district of Cachar has reported 3,302 COVID-19 positive cases to date with ten deaths registered in the area.
