Bengaluru: In a bid to escape from the chasing police, a suspected Nigerian drug peddler died after he fell from a scooter on Kothanur-Avalahalli Road on Sunday midnight. The friends of the deceased have alleged that the police had beaten him to death.
The deceased is identified as Ifeanyi Madu, 28, who was living with his friends in Kothanur. He had reportedly come to India on a business visa a few years ago.
According to the police, the officials of the women and narcotics squad of the Central Crime Branch received credible information that a drug peddler was coming to deliver the drugs at a particular place on Kothanur-Avalahalli Road.
A team lead by CCB inspector Yashavanth Kumar was waiting for the accused to come. Around 12.10 am on Monday, two riding a Honda Dio passed through the road and on seeing the police took a ‘U’ turn.
As the rider tried to escape, the vehicle skidded and the pillion rider fell from the scooter but the rider sped away. The police rushed to the rescue of the pillion rider, who was lying unconscious and immediately took him to Bowring Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
Additional Commissioner of Police Hemant Nimbalkar said the inspector later filed a complaint with the Kempegowda International Airport traffic police, adding that the police teams did not find any narcotic substance in the possession of the deceased and efforts are on to find the absconding rider.
Meanwhile, Madu's friend Elvis alleged that the police would have beaten the former to death. “We suspect that the police took him to station after the accident and then would have beaten him to death while questioning him. We demand an impartial probe into the death.”
But Police Commissioner Praveen Sood said that if anyone has any suspicion over the death, they are free to file a complaint. “We are ready to receive the complaint and conduct an investigation,” he added.
