Road blocked to protest custodial death

JHANG: A good number of relatives, protesting against the death of a 28-year-old man in police custody, blocked for hours the Jhang-Gojra Road outside the DHQ Hospital here on Wednesday.

The demonstrators shouted slogans against the police and demanded immediate registration of a murder case against the policemen responsible for the death in custody.

Reports said Mohammad Aslam of Chak Koriana had been in police custody for the past several days. His condition deteriorated at night and he died soon after the police shifted him to the DHQ Hospital early on Wednesday.

A relative said Aslam had no criminal record and the police had picked him up on mere suspicion of theft about a week ago.

He alleged the police subjected him to severe torture during custody, adding the parents of the victim were asked to pay heavy amount for his release.

A police official said the deceased was wanted in connection with the recovery of stolen motorcycles and other items.

Denying the torture allegation, he claimed the suspect was suffering from some disease which caused his death. He said the actual cause of the death could be ascertained only after receiving his autopsy report.

Published in Dawn, February 25th, 2016