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Over two dozen held for rioting

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: Over two-dozen people, including several women, were arrested at Sultanpuri here on Tuesday for indulging in large-scale violence and rioting following the death of a 42-year-old man allegedly in police custody. The police, however, described the allegation as "baseless and unfounded".

Violence erupted in Prem Nagar soon after news of the death of Kamaluddin spread in the morning and angry residents gathered outside the area police post and resorted to stone-throwing and arson. Raising slogans against the police, they hurled stones at cars and set four motorcycles on fire, including one belonging to the police.

The situation was, however, brought under control and over two-dozen people, mostly slum-dwellers, were arrested.

The local residents claimed that they saw Kamaluddin being taken away by the police and the next they heard was that he was dead.

Rumours

Maintaining that the allegations of custodial death were based on rumours, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-West) Manish Kumar Agrawal said: "The police received a call at 3-55 a.m. saying that a mentally unstable man was pelting stones at passing vehicles in Prem Nagar and had badly beaten up an auto-rickshaw driver. When the police team reached the spot, the man, later identified as Kamaluddin, had already been beaten up by the locals.

The police took both Kamaluddin and the injured auto-rickshaw driver Rajender to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital where the former was declared brought dead. The incident led to rumours that Kamaluddin was beaten to death in police custody leading to rioting and arson."

However, keeping in view the seriousness of the allegations, an enquiry by Additional District Magistrate has been instituted into the matter, said Mr. Agrawal.

Kamaluddin's wife Mubarak said her husband had gone for an evening walk on Monday night, but did not return. "At this, I along with my brother went out to search for him but could not find him. Early on Tuesday morning, when I went to the police post to lodge a missing complaint, they told me that he was in hospital. When I went to the hospital I found him dead," she said.

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