A 24-year-old youth arrested by the Sampigehalli police on the charge of robbing a mobile phone died under mysterious circumstances at the station on Sunday morning.
The family of the deceased, Ramesh, who is a resident of Thonde Bhavi village in Chikkaballapura, alleged that it was a custodial death, following which the case has been transferred to Criminal Investigation Department, Additional Commissioner of Police, (East) Hemanth Nimbalkar said.
According to Mr. Nimbalkar, on Saturday night at around 9. 30 p.m., Praveen, a private firm employee was talking on the phone near the Nagawara signal, when Ramesh approached him and requested Praveen for his phone to make an emergency call. When Praveen handed over his phone, Ramesh began to flee with it. Praveen raised an alarm for help, following which passers-by began to chase Ramesh.
In a bid to escape from the crowd, Ramesh climbed an advertisement hoarding pole and started shouting. He was arrested by Sampegehalli police, which arrived on the scene minutes later. The suspect was taken to the police station for inquiry.
A case was registered based on a complaint by Praveen. The arrest formalities were attended to, Mr. Nimbalkar added.
The accused allegedly complained of uneasiness and was taken to General Hospital, Yelahanka at around 11. 30 p.m. where the duty doctor examined him. He was found to be under the influence of alcohol, but his basic parameters were normal. On medical advice, the accused was brought to police station and kept in a cell, he said.
Around 1.45 a.m. on Sunday, Ramesh again complained of uneasiness and was immediately was taken to a nearby clinic, where the doctor said he needed ECG. As the facility was not available at the clinic, he was shifted to Regal Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. The police registered a case of unnatural death, Mr. Nimbalkar said.
“The instructions and guidelines by NHRC and other agencies are being scrupulously followed. The information was immediately shared with CID, Bengaluru and already the CID team has taken over the investigation,” he added.
