Man dies in police custody, 2 cops suspended; family alleges torture

Kathua/Jammu: A 38-year-old man allegedly died under mysterious circumstances in a police lockup in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district, officials said on Tuesday.
The family of the deceased has alleged that he was tortured in the custody.
According to officials, Sonu Kumar was arrested after police recovered 7 grams of heroin from his possession in the Goond area of Kathua. He was sent to a police lockup at Nagari post on Saturday.
He died under mysterious circumstances in the lockup on Monday night. His body has been shifted to the district’s government medical college (GMC) for postmortem, they said.
Authorities have ordered a probe into the matter and suspended two cops.
“A magisterial probe has been ordered. Two cops have been suspended and post incharge has been attached with police lines”, Kathua Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shivdeep Singh Jamwal told PTI.
Kumar’s nephew Rahul alleged that he died due to torture in the police custody.
Sonu was “fit and fine” when he met him on Sunday evening, Rahul told reporters.
A street food vendor, Sonu is survived by wife and three little children. He was the sole breadwinner of the family, his nephew said.
His wife has demanded justice and punishment for those responsible for her husband’s death.