Indian police kill Muslim man in custody in Gujarat
173 custodial deaths reported from Gujarat in last two years
Ahmedabad: A 30-year-old Muslim man, Azharuddin, was killed by Indian police in custody in the BJP-ruled state of Gujarat.
According to the Kashmir Media Service, a 30-year-old Muslim man, Azharuddin, was beaten to death after he visited the Vejalpur police station in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, over a dispute with his acquaintances.
According to Azharuddin’s wife, Sana, there was an argument between her husband and a meat trader whom he knew. Following the dispute, they went to the police station to file a complaint. However, she does not know what transpired between her husband and the police after which he was beaten to death. “He went to the police station to file a complaint after a small dispute with a local acquaintance.
Then, he was taken inside the police station and brutally beaten to death,” said the victim’s wife, Sana. “Before dying, Azharuddin told us that he was brutally beaten up by the police. He was hit in the head, back, and legs. He told us everything. I know everything. I can identify all the accused,” said Sana.
According to government data, 173 custodial deaths were reported from Gujarat in the last two years, and no compensation was provided to the victims during this period. As per the government, compensation is provided to the victim only on the orders of India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Gujarat State Human Rights Commission. Azharuddin is survived by an 8-year-old son.
The SDPI delegation demanded a fair probe into the case of Azharuddin’s death, the termination of the guilty policemen, and putting them behind bars. According to the NCRB data, the BJP-ruled Gujarat state has recorded the highest number of custodial deaths for the third consecutive year. The death of Azharuddin is the second case of police violence reported in the same month. On May 1, omelette vendor Fayyaz was assaulted by Gujarat policemen because he had kept his shop open after 11 PM in the night in Gujarat’s Vadodara. In this case, three policemen were booked for attempted murder and other sections of the IPC. Meanwhile, in India’s capital New Delhi, two laborers lost their lives while cleaning a septic tank in the vicinity of Jasola village in Sarita Vihar, Delhi.
