Take congisance of custody death: Lawyer

Mumbai: A city-based lawyer on Thursday requested the vacation bench of the Bombay high court to take suo-motu cognisance of the custodial death of Vijay Singh in Wadala Truck Terminal police station earlier this week.

Meanwhile, the family of the victim Vijay Singh met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who assured that directions have already been issued for taking stern actions against policemen responsible for his death.

During the meet, attended by several political leaders, including tourism minister Jaykumar Rawal and Kripashankar Singh, Mr Fadnavis assured the family that one police sub-inspector and four police constables have been suspended from service and action would also be taken against those found guilty during the probe.

Advocate Arvind Tiwari on Thursday submitted his petition before Justice K.K. Tated requesting the court to pass appropriate directions to the state government to initiate strict action against police personnel responsible for Singh’s death.

He urged the court to form a committee, headed by a retired high court judge, to conduct an inquiry into the incident.

After hearing Mr Tiwari’s plea, Justice Tated directed the high court registry to place the application before Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog for necessary directions.

The application filed by Mr Tiwari read, “Custodial death is perhaps one of the worst crimes in a civilised society governed by the rule of law. As per reports, the number of custodial deaths in the state of Maharashtra is very high.”

It also said that the government has so far not complied with previous high court orders, which directed that CCTV cameras be installed in every police station to avoid such incidents.

Singh, a resident of suburban Sion area, who worked as a medical representative in a pharmaceutical firm, died on October 27 after he was detained at the Wadala TT Police Station for questioning in an assault case. The victim’s family members and his friend alleged that he was beaten to death in police custody.

The police, however, claimed that Singh was released after he complained of chest pain and that he collapsed at the gate of the police station.