Tripura youth dies after 'torture' in cop custody

AGARTALA: A 19-year-old youth in Tripura, who was arrested on theft charges 10 days ago, has died after being allegedly tortured by police in custody.
The incident came to light on Friday after the victims's mother registered a case of custodial death against Pritam Datta, sub-inspector of RK police station, in a local court. Police allegedly picked up the victim, identified as Mangal Das, from Amarnagar Colony of Udaipur in Gomati district on October 23.The next day, police took him to his house for a conducting a search and reportedly beat him up in the presence of his mother and relatives. Subsequently, Das was sent to seven days police remand where he was again allegedly tortured by Datta, the investigating officer in the case. According to reports, Das fell ill on October 30 but police did not take any steps for his treatment. The next morning, when his condition became critical, he was shifted to hospital. Police then informed Arati Das, the victim's mother, who found her son dead in the hospital.
"Police neither conducted an autopsy nor handed over the body to us. His cremation was done forcefully. Police even abused me in hospital and told me not to make an issue out of my son's death as he died in natural course," Arati told the media on Saturday.