Kathua/Jammu: A 35-year-old suspected drug peddler allegedly hanged himself inside a police lockup in Kathua district on Sunday, prompting the authorities to order a magisterial inquiry, officials said.
Three policemen were placed under suspension and the station house officer (SHO) concerned was attached to the district police lines as the police also ordered a separate departmental inquiry, they said.
Sunil Verma of Tapyal village was arrested after 11.47 grams of heroin was found on him during a vehicle checking in the Hiranagar area on Thursday, and he was being questioned at the local police station, the officials said.
Verma’s body was found hanging by his muffler inside the washroom at the police station around 8.10 am and was rushed to the Government Medical College hospital in Kathua, where he was declared brought dead, they said, claiming that he had committed suicide.
However, his relatives, on getting information about his death, visited the police station and later, blocked the Jammu-Pathankot highway near Londi Morh, demanding an FIR and a judicial inquiry.
The protest ended nearly five hours later when Deputy Commissioner, Kathua, Rahul Yadav, and Senior Superintendent of Police, Kathua, Ramesh Kotwal visited the scene and assured of a fair probe into the incident.
“We have ordered a magisterial probe into the incident. The inquiry will be conducted by an additional deputy commissioner, and he was asked to submit his report within 15 days,” Yadav told PTI.
The deputy commissioner, who showed his order for a probe to the protesters while persuading them to disperse, announced an amount of Rs 1 lakh under the Red Cross fund to the family of the deceased.
A police officer said the SSP has ordered a departmental inquiry into the incident and also placed three policemen who were on guard duty under immediate suspension.
The SHO of the police station concerned was also attached to the district police lines till further orders, he said.
