Man's death in police custody: Judicial magistrate records statements of key witnesses

Kolkata — A judicial magistrate went to the Sinthee police station on Thursday and recorded the statements of key witnesses, including the woman who was allegedly missing, in connection with the death of a man in police custody here, police sources said.

A judicial magistrate from the Sealdah court recorded the statements of key witnesses in the case, including Ashura Bibi, who was traced almost 38 hours after she went "missing", the sources added.

The family members of Rajkumar Shaw (53), who died in custody at the Sinthee police station on Monday, had alleged that the police had "taken Ashura Bibi away to an undisclosed place to suppress the actual story behind the case".

They had alleged that the woman was "missing" since Tuesday morning from the night shelter, where she was staying, at ward no. 5 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation.

"No missing complaint was lodged. Our officers traced her to the residence of one of her relatives. She is safe and has been given protection," a senior police officer said.

Three policemen were booked and departmental proceedings initiated against them, following Shaw's death.

The family members of the deceased had alleged that Shaw died due to torture by policemen.

The police, however, had denied the charge and said Shaw was ill and had died of cardiac arrest.

Shaw's relatives had ransacked the police station and lodged a complaint against the policemen.

A petition has also been filed in the Calcutta High Court, seeking a CBI probe into Shaw's death.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice TBN Radhakrishnan and Justice Arijit Banerjee has directed the West Bengal government to submit an action-taken report and Shaw's post-mortem report on February 25, the next date of hearing of the petition.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that Shaw was a party member.