Custodial Death: Bengal CM Visits Kin, Suspends Officer, Announces Aid

A man named Birju Keot died while he was in police custody in Halisahar, a town in West Bengal.

The police had arrested him on charges that included extortion.

On Friday he was produced in court, where a judge allowed the police to keep him for five days of custody.

On Saturday, people learned that he had died inside the police lockup.

His wife, Jenny Sharma Keot, a former local councillor, said the police beat him and that is why he died.

She also wrote to the Chief Minister saying the police had physically abused her husband.

On Sunday, former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the family but faced protests, with shoes, mud, bricks, and stones thrown at her car; she blamed BJP-backed miscreants.

On Monday, the Chief Minister, called Suvendu Adhikari in the report, visited the family, admitted police negligence, and suspended the investigating officer.

He ordered a magistrate-level investigation and promised the family Rs 10 lakh in aid, monthly help for the widow, and a job for her later.

The government says the autopsy report will make the true cause of death clear.