Labourer Dies In Mumbai, Friend Says He Was Beaten Up By Cops

A labourer died after returning home in Mumba's Dongri area on Saturday night, following which his roommate alleged that he died after being beaten up by the police for violating the lockdown amid coronavirus pandemic.

However, the police denied the allegation and said the labourer, identified as Sagir Jamil Khan, died due to a heart ailment.

The JJ Marg police have registered an accidental death report in the matter.

The roommate claimed that after returning home on Saturday night, Jamil Khan told him that while he was driving a handcart to deliver a refrigerator in Null Bazar locality, the police caught hold of him at Phoolwali Galli in Dongri and hit him on the head, hands and back.

While having dinner, Jamil Khan suddenly collapsed.

He was then rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead, his roommate said.

However, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone 1, Sangramsingh Nishandar said that Mr Khan's medical report showed the cause of death as "heart enlargement", and there was no external or internal injury on the body.

"The CCTV footage of the street shows him passing by at quite a distance from the spot where there was police nakabandi. The allegations against police are false and baseless," he said.

There will be a medical examination and the body will be handed over to his relatives for last rites, the official added.

Last month, another labourer's relatives alleged that he was beaten to death by the police personnel enforcing the lockdown in Nehru Nagar area. However, the police refuted the allegations and claimed that the labourer was lynched by residents of the area while he was attempting a robbery. The police had then registered a case against eight people for murder and rioting.