GUWAHATI, June 21 - A single bench of the Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has taken suo moto cognizance of a news item published in The Assam Tribune and a few other dailies regarding the death of a jailed person, Krishna Mandal, at the Gauhati Medical College & Hospital on June 18.
Mandal was picked up by police of Gorchuk Police Station in connection with a car theft case on May 31. He was remanded to judicial custody the next day and a week later shifted to GMCH after his health deteriorated.
Mandal�s family had alleged that he was physically tortured by police personnel while in Gorchuk Police Station. Doctors in GMCH too had indicated the victim bore injury marks.
The AHRC has issued notice to the District Magistrate, Kamrup (Metro) to conduct an inquiry to find out the circumstances leading to the death of the person and to submit the report within one month along with a copy of the post-mortem report, inquest report and videography of post-mortem examination.
The Commission also received a complaint submitted by Gopal Mandal, younger brother of the deceased alleging that his brother was tortured during police custody in the name of interrogation, causing head injuries.
The deceased was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate on June 1 and was remanded to jail. He was shifted to the GMCH on June 11 as his health condition started to deteriorate while in jail.
