4 cops booked as Dalit man’s death sparks protest in Lucknow

Police on Sunday registered an FIR against four police personnel in connection with the sudden death of a 28-year-old Dalit man allegedly in a police van in Lucknow’s Vikas Nagar area here while he was being taken to a police station after being caught gambling late on Friday night.
They named one and three unidentified cops in the FIR booking them under 105, 352 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 3(1)(d) and 3 (2) (v) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 at Vikas Nagar police station.
Following the death of the man identified as Vikas Nagar resident Aman Gautam, a protest erupted in the area on Saturday and continued till night. The family of the deceased alleged that police assault led to Aman’s death even as the police claimed that he died due to a heart attack citing the post-mortem report of the deceased.
“The post-mortem was conducted by a panel of three doctors. As per the post-mortem report, no visible injury was found on the body and the cause of death was found to be a heart attack cardiogenic shock. Further legal action is being taken in the matter,” said the Lucknow police in its official statement.
Aman’s wife Roshni claimed that on Friday (October 11) night at around 9 o’clock, her husband was sitting with some of his friends in the neighbourhood when suddenly a police van arrived there. The police surrounded them and started questioning them.
“The cops, particularly one named Shailendra Singh and three others, started abusing and beating him (Aman) so much that he became unconscious. After it, the policemen got scared and took him to Mahanagar Civil Line Hospital in their vehicle. When the doctors there refused to treat him, they took him to Lohia hospital where the doctors declared him dead,” she alleged in the FIR.
On the other, Lucknow Police in a statement said, “On the night of October 11, UP 112 PRV-4830 received information that some people were gambling in Dr Ambedkar Park, in Sector-8 of Vikas Nagar. As soon as the information was received, PRV-4830 reached the spot. On seeing the police vehicle, the people involved in gambling started running away. Two people, Sonu Bansal and Aman Kumar, were caught by PRV personnel and made to sit in the vehicle to bring them to the police station for questioning.”
“While sitting in the vehicle, Aman’s health suddenly started deteriorating, on seeing which the personnel of PRV-4830 immediately took him to the hospital for treatment where the doctors declared him dead,” the police statement read.
Earlier, the protest against the Dalit man’s sudden death that started on Saturday evening continued throughout the night. The police resorted to mild lathi charge as they chased the protestors away.
Aman’s family members were not ready to cremate the body. After the continued protest by the family demanding action against the police, Lucknow police registered an FIR in the case. The cremation took place on Sunday.