Bengaluru: In an alleged lock-up death, a 28-year-old history-sheeter died while he was in the custody of DJ Halli police on Monday afternoon. While the police claimed that the deceased, Kaleem alias Pickpocket Kaleem, a resident of DJ Halli, died of a heart attack after he fell off a compound wall while trying to escape from police, his family alleged that Kaleem was beaten up mercilessly inside the station leading to his death.
Kaleem, who was involved in several cases including a murder in DJ Halli police station limits, was also an associate of rowdy Anis. He was on the wanted list of DJ Halli police for vandalism and setting vehicles on fire in DJ Halli.
The police, who were hunting for Kaleem for some years now, got a tipoff on his whereabouts on Monday afternoon. When the police went to the spot, Kaleem tried to escape and jumped off a compound wall, but fell on his chest. He was rushed to nearby hospital where he died after a cardiac arrest. He was also “high” as he had smoked ganja, the police said.
Questioning the police version, Kaleem’s parents alleged that he died after the police took him into custody and beat him up in the police station. The police have later concocted the story of Kaleem jumping off the wall, they said.
Kaleem’s body was shifted to Dr B.R. Ambedkar Hospital for post-mortem. An internal inquiry under DCP (East) Ajay Hillori has been ordered by Additional Commissioner of Police (East) Seemanth Kumar Singh.
