TMC worker dies hours after arrest in Bengal, wife alleges custodial torture
A Trinamool Congress worker died after falling ill inside a police lock-up in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, with his wife alleging that he
A Trinamool Congress worker died after falling ill inside a police lock-up in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, with his wife alleging that he was brutally beaten and tortured in custody hours before his death. Birju Keot, husband of former Trinamool Congress councillor Jeny Sharma Keot, was arrested by Halisahar police on Friday over allegations including extortion and corruption. He was produced before a Barrackpore sub-divisional court, which sent him to five days of police custody. Read Full Story Keot was subsequently kept in the Halisahar police lock-up. He fell ill in the early hours of Saturday and was taken to Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hospital in Kalyani, Nadia district, where doctors declared him dead. Police have not yet responded to the allegations surrounding his death. Police sources, according to the information available, said Keot died after suffering a heart attack, but questions remain over the circumstances of his death. WIFE ALLEGES CUSTODIAL ASSAULT Jeny Sharma Keot, a former councillor from Ward 23 of Kancharapara municipality, said she had met her husband at around 9 pm on Friday and found him well. "He was okay when I met him last night at 9 pm. But after that he was beaten, tortured by the investigation officer. By which he felt ill inside police lockup," she alleged. She further alleged that Keot had visible injury marks and was bleeding from his ear. "My husband was beaten mercilessly, tying him with rope. He had marks of injury.
He was seen bleeding," she said, demanding a proper investigation into his death. According to Jeny, the family was not informed when Keot's condition deteriorated or when he was taken to hospital. "The police even didn't inform us about his illness and death after he was taken to hospital," she said. The family rushed to the hospital after learning about his condition in the early hours of Saturday. ARREST AND POLICE CUSTODY Keot was arrested by Halisahar police over alleged involvement in corruption, extortion and other allegations. He was taken for a medical examination after his arrest on Friday and was later produced before the Barrackpore sub-divisional court. The court ordered five days of police custody, after which he was taken to the Halisahar police lock-up. He fell sick there in the early hours of Saturday. Police took him to Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hospital in Kalyani, where doctors declared him dead. The exact circumstances leading to his death remain unclear. POLITICAL ROW ERUPTS Keot's death has triggered a political confrontation between the TMC and BJP, with the ruling party accusing the police of custodial excesses and the BJP calling for the circumstances of the death to be investigated. Keot was said to be a close associate of Kamal Adhikari, the former chairman of Kancharapara municipality who quit the post after the TMC's poor performance in the Assembly election. Adhikari has also faced allegations of corruption in the locality. Keot had campaigned for Subodh Adhikari, Kamal Adhikari's brother, who contested the Bijpur Assembly seat as a TMC candidate but lost.
The BriefWire