A 22-year-old man accused of rape allegedly hanged himself while in police custody on Thursday. The incident led to the suspension of all personnel at the Chipiyana Buzurg police post, which falls under the Bisrakh police station in Gautam Buddh Nagar district.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-II) Suniti confirmed the suspensions, stating that they were ordered by Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh, who also initiated a probe into the matter. An investigation has been launched against the in-charge of the police station and the assistant police commissioner.
A panel of doctors conducted a postmortem, which was videographed, DCP Suniti added.
The case involved a woman working at a company near Chipiyana village who accused her colleague, the deceased man, of rape. She had lodged her complaint with the Superintendent of Police in Lucknow.
An investigation team from Lucknow called the accused to the Chipiyana Buzurg post for questioning on Thursday morning. The man was made to wait outside, and the team left the post, leaving only a woman constable present. During this time, the accused went inside, closed the door of a room, and allegedly hanged himself from a fan. He was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead.
Family members of the deceased alleged that he committed suicide out of fear of being beaten by the police. Upon learning of his death, a large crowd gathered at the mortuary in Sector-94, raising slogans against the police.
The brother of the deceased claimed that the rape accusation was false and held the woman responsible for his death.
No FIR has been registered against the police personnel yet. The DCP stated that a case would be registered upon receiving a complaint from the bereaved family.
