A cow slaughter case accused died in police custody, and his family has alleged custodial torture. According to the autopsy report, there are claims of suspected drug overdose, and after the accused’s death, his family and a group of 15–20 people staged a protest outside the police station. The incident has created tension in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad.
The 70-year-old Zahiruddin alias Dabbo Gyasuddin Shaikh was arrested in connection with an alleged cow slaughter case. After his arrest, he was in police custody, where he later died, which led his family to protest outside the Juhapura police station since the day of his death.
The family of Zahiruddin claims that he died due to police torture in custody. They have refused to accept his body, which is currently kept in the mortuary at SVP Hospital.
According to the family, Zahiruddin was arrested on May 16 in connection with a cow slaughter case, where police had recovered around 250 kg of alleged cow meat and a calf. As per police, he was the main accused in an illegal cow slaughter network.
The family alleges that he was beaten in custody and was also given some pills by police, which led to his death. They also claim he was not allowed proper medical care or access to his family or lawyer.
On the other hand, police have denied all allegations. They say there were no visible injury marks on his body during the post-mortem conducted in the presence of officials and videography. Police also claim that a doctor recorded that Zahiruddin said he had consumed around 90 tablets on his own.
However, there is a video allegedly recorded by Zahiruddin’s son which shows Zahiruddin on a stretcher claiming that police beat him, including allegations of being kicked and assaulted.
As per reports, after his health worsened, police shifted him to different hospitals, including GMERS Sola Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad Civil Hospital, and finally SVP Hospital, where he died on May 20.
Police have registered an accidental death report and said that, as per preliminary forensic reports, the cause of death is suspected to be an overdose of medical drugs. Detailed forensic reports are still awaited.
The police, however, said that all allegations are under investigation and that the accused had multiple previous cases against him. The situation has now led to ongoing tension and protests outside the police station.
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