Hyderabad: Alleged police harassment drove a 17-year-old youth to commit suicide in Mirzalaguda on Wednesday night. S. Tarun Yadav, a tele-caller in a private company, hanged himself minutes after he was released from the Lalaguda police station. The cops had picked him following a complaint by his friend about a phone snatching case and had allegedly beaten him.
Yadav’s family alleged that the police had tried to extort money from him to settle the case. Yadav and his friend Sandeep (19) were detained by the Lalaguda police on Wednesday in order to recover a phone and a tablet. They were picked up following a complaint by their friend, Susheel Kumar alias Nani, who alleged that the two had snatched his phone and a tablet two days ago. Although, Mr Kumar had requested the police to withdraw the case, the cops were apparently adamant that they would go ahead with the case, the relatives alleged.
“Police stripped my brother, beat him black and blue and threatened to book various other cases. They asked him to pay Rs 15,000 by Thursday morning in order to avoid further police action. Fearing that he would not be able to pay the money, my brother hanged himself after he came home,” said the victim’s elder brother Shankar Yadav, adding that cops had already taken some money from Mr Sandeep’s family.
Tarun’s father weeps over his death
After he was released, Tarun had told his mother and brother that he would commit suicide if he did not get the money. “He came home and asked for Rs 15,000. We did not have that much money, so we told him not to worry. He went inside the room saying he wanted to change his clothes. After a few minutes, when my mother opened the window, she found him hanging,” said Mr Shankar Yadav. Tarun’s family members had also requested the police not to take him as he was a minor. The victim’s friends said that all three had got drunk two days before the incident.
Cops deny they tortured the minor before suicide
Hours after Tarun Yadav committed suicide apparently due to police harassment, the North Zone police denied the charge against them and said the man took the step after a tiff with his step-brother. Lalaguda police officials insist they did not beat Yadav and that they had called him to the police station only to counsel him.
The Malkajgiri police investigating the suicide case has booked a case of suspicious death. It has no mention of the allegations made by Yadav’s family against the North Zone cops. The panchnama issued by the Malkajgiri police stated that Yadav was addicted to alcohol and marijuana. The police also changed his age in the panchnama from 17 years to 18 years.
Police now claim that when Lalaguda police apprehended Yadav in a phone snatching case, they recovered a small packet of marijuana from his pocket. Lalaguda police inspector Karan Kumar Singh, who handled the snatching case, said he or his subordinates had not assaulted Yadav.
Officials said that Yadav’s brother had scolded him and beat him up for creating trouble. “When Yadav asked for money to buy alcohol, his parents did not give it. He got depressed and ended his life,” the police claimed.
Meanwhile, police foiled an attempt by Yadav’s relatives to hold a dharna in front of the police station along with the body. Cops diverted the route of the ambulance when it was bringing the body back from the Gandhi Hospital mortuary after post-mortem.
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