Family of 22-year-old, who hanged himself after he spent two days in lock-up, say he was scared of returning to the police station for further interrogation
Overpowered by the fear of police after spending two days in the lock-up, a 22-year-old hanged himself near his house in Kandivli so he would not have to return to the police station.
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Sandesh Posture’s parents, Leelavati and Suresh alleged that they were not informed about his detention for an entire day. Pic/Nimesh Dave
Three days before his death, Sandesh Posture, a resident of Borsa Pada in Indira Nagar, was picked up by the police on suspicion of his involvement in a local theft. His family was allegedly not informed about this for an entire day, and they only learnt about it on Saturday evening. When they went to the Kandivli police station, the cops told them to return the next day.
On Sunday evening, the officers finally handed Sandesh over to his father on the condition that he would return to the police station the next day. His father, Suresh, recalled, “On the way home, Sandesh asked me whether we would have to return to the police station on Monday, to which I said yes. After reaching home, he did not eat anything and istead said he was going out for a while.”
Sandesh never returned. The family tried searching for him late into the night, but the next morning, Sandesh was found hanging from a tree close to the house. “At around 8 am on Monday, Kandivli police told us that Sandesh had committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree near Kapol International School,” said Suresh.
Sandesh’s mother Leelavati told mid-day, “When he did not turn up that night, we began searching for him. From Friday to till Sunday evening he was at the police station. The police had not informed us about his detention. He and I were the only earning members in our family, and now only I am left.” Leelavati works as a domestic help, while Sandesh had been unemployed for a few months. She said he used to work in the diamond industry earlier, but for the past few months, had been trying to land a job as a loader at the domestic airport. Her husband is retired, while her younger son is a student.
Sources from Kandivli police station said Sandesh had been arrested in the past for a cycle theft and that is why he was picked up as a suspect in this case. However, Sandesh’s family alleged that even the earlier case was false. The cops had picked him up while he was riding the bicycle with his friend, but he had no clue that the cycle had been stolen.
Senior Police Inspector Mukund Pawar, “We had detained Sandesh for interrogation and informed his family about this. A suicide note was found in his pocket, in which he clearly mentioned that no one was to be held responsible for his death.”