Maharashtra: Court orders probe in elderly man's death at police station in Thane

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A 63-year-old man died after collapsing at a police station in Kalyan, a town in Maharashtra's Thane district, where his son was brought by the police for questioning following a combing operation, an official said.

The incident occurred late Friday night at the Kolsewadi police station in Thane, he said.

The police said that the man collapsed following a seizure attack and the incident was captured on the CCTV cameras installed at the police station.

However, the local court has ordered that an inquest panchnama of the incident and post-mortem of the deceased be carried out.

An inquest panchnama is conducted after a person dies as a result of crime or under suspicious circumstances.

"During an 'all-out operation' conducted last night, the police picked up a 24-year-old man, who is a local resident, and took him to Kolsewadi police station for inquiry. His father Deepak Bhingardive, 63, followed him to the police station to know why his son was brought there," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone III- Kalyan) Sachin Gunjal said in a release.

While the police were interrogating the man, his father video-graphed it on his mobile phone. As he was arguing with the police, he was made to sit behind the station house officer's block at the police station, he said.

"However, there he suffered a seizure attack and collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead," he added.

The entire sequence of events was recorded on CCTV cameras installed at the police station, he said.

"The police station personnel themselves informed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Their officials arrived at the police station," Gunjal said, adding that the CCTV footage will be handed over to the probe agency.

Later, the Chief Judicial Magistrate ordered the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) to arrange the inquest panchnama and post-mortem reports of the deceased, he said.

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The process of inquest panchnama and post-mortem will be video-graphed, the official said.

A case of accidental death has been registered at Kolsewadi police station, he said.

Another son of the deceased accused the police of beating his father to death.

"I had gone to the police station with my father. But the personnel there were not cooperating. My father was taking a video of my brother in the lock-up. Police snatched the mobile phone from my father and slapped him. They beat him in the lock-up as well," he alleged.

Meanwhile, Nationalist Congress Party MLA Jitendra Awhad tweeted the deceased was an officer-bearer of his party and that he was beaten to death by the police.

" A rashtravadi congress office bearer Deepak Bingardive after being beaten in police chowky for no no crime died in the chowky. FIR should be registered all those who were present and those who brought him. Please do not not try to hush up the matter," Awhad said in a tweet.

He also tagged Thane city police and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the Home portfolio in the state.

The NCP MLA also tweeted a video of the scene outside the hospital where the post mortem and other legal formalities will be conducted. In the video, a police official can be seen explaining the formalities set to take place to the kin of the deceased.

Refuting Awhad, the Kalyan unit president of NCP Jagannath Shinde told reporters Bhingardive was not connected to the party.

NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said some family member of Bhingardive was an office-bearer of the party.

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