A man arrested for his alleged involvement in the riots at D.J. Halli and K.G Halli and who was lodged at Parappana Agrahara Central Prison for two days, died hours after an abdomen surgery at Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital in the city on Saturday evening.
While three youths from the adjoining areas in east Bengaluru died in police firing, this is the fourth death of a person related to the violence that broke out on Tuesday, when a mob went on a rampage over a derogatory social media post.
The deceased has been identified as Sayyad Nadeem, 24, a resident of K.G. Halli. He also tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday.
While Nadeem had reportedly claimed that he was hit by a tear-gas shell during the riots on Tuesday and later developed a severe abdominal pain, the police said they are yet to ascertain the facts of the case.
Nadeem was at the spot where the riots turned most violent in front of the D.J. Halli Police Station on the night.
“He was arrested on Wednesday based on a technical investigation that indicated his presence at the site of violence,” a senior officer said. “Medical tests were conducted on him and he made no complaints. He was produced before a magistrate who remanded him in judicial custody the same day. He was handed over to the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison authorities early on on August 13 [Thursday],” said S. Murugan, Additional Commissioner of Police (East).
Prison authorities told The Hindu that Nadeem complained of a severe pain in the abdomen later on Thursday.
“We sent him to the hospital in Jayanagar on Thursday, where an X-ray was taken which pointed to certain internal injuries. He was admitted to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital on Friday, where he also tested positive for COVID-19. A surgery was conducted on him on Saturday morning, but he passed away later in the day,” a senior prison official said.
“He had suffered from a perforation in the stomach that can happen either after an ulcer or due to an injury. He had also suffered liver laceration for which a surgery was conducted,” said Vijayalakshmi G.N., Medical Superintendent, Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, who added that there was no clarity on the cause of the wound.
In an official statement, the city police said that he was operated with a history of “blunt injury and not bullet injury”.
There are reports that one of the tear gas shells that was lobbed to control the mob on Tuesday had hit him in the abdomen and he received some first aid before he was arrested for his role in the riots on Wednesday. “However, only a post-mortem will reveal the cause of death,” said Mr. Murugan.
The death of the man will also be covered by the probe by the district executive magistrate that has been ordered, a senior police official added.
