A 55-year-old Muslim man, Salim, died under mysterious circumstances after being taken away by the police from his house in Jaleelpur village in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh on Thursday night.
According to the family members, around 15–16 policemen reached Salim’s house at 2 a.m. and picked him up along with two or three others.
They alleged that the police beat Salim mercilessly and dumped him near a mosque, where his body was found half an hour later.
The family also claimed that the police did not take Salim to the hospital or inform them about his death. They accused the police of killing Salim without any reason or provocation.
The villagers staged a protest at the spot where Salim’s body was found, demanding justice and action against the police. They also complained of police brutality and harassment in the area.
The police, however, denied the allegations and said that Salim was a suspect in a theft case and was taken for questioning. They said that he fell ill during the interrogation and was sent to a local government hospital, where he was declared dead.
The police also said that they have registered a case of unnatural death and are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain the cause of death.
