Custody death: Calcutta HC directs preservation of video-recording of autopsy

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed preservation of the video recording of the autopsy of Abu Siddik Halder, a youth from Dholahat who died in police custody on Monday night.

On Wednesday, the family members of the deceased filed a petition at the single-judge Bench of Justice Amrita Sinha seeking a detailed and independent probe in the matter.

On Thursday, as the matter came up for hearing, the counsel for the state government rubbished claims of custodial torture and said that Halder’s death was caused by the rise in urea and creatinine levels in his body.

When Justice Sinha asked for CCTV footage of the Dholarhat Police Station, where the alleged custodial torture took place, the counsel of the state government informed that the camera had not been working for quite some time.

Thereafter, Justice Sinha ordered the preservation of the video recordings of the post mortem of the victim’s body.

The matter will come up for hearing again on Friday.

Halder died on July 8, just four days after he was released on bail by a District Court in South 24 Parganas District on July 4.

On Thursday, the victim’s family members informed the court that they had to pay a bribe of Rs 1.75 lakh to cops to ensure his bail.

The victim was arrested by police on June 30 on charges of stealing jewellery. The family members alleged that he was beaten up in custody, which was evident from the injuries that were visible while he was presented to a District Court on July 4.

He was granted bail on that day and was sent to a local hospital, where he was released after primary treatment.

The victim’s mother Taslima Bibi claimed that his condition started deteriorating when he came back home, following which he was shifted to a hospital in Kolkata.

Later he was admitted to a private nursing home for further treatment. However, he died late on Monday night.