Gauhati: The Gauhati High Court recently ordered the Assam government to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation to the next of kin of a man who died under unnatural circumstances while in police custody in Jorhat PS.
A division bench of Justice Achintya Malla Bujor Barua and Justice Mitali Thakuria was hearing a writ petition filed by the brother of the victim, Sabir Ansari.
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Ansari was taken into custody on October 19, 2021, in connection with a case registered under Section 380 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code at the Jorhat Police Station. He was found dead in police custody the next day.
The victim’s family alleged that Ansari had been tortured to death by the police. They sought a judicial inquiry and a CBI investigation into his death, as well as compensation.
The court noted that the victim’s death was unnatural and that he had died while in police custody. It also observed that the police had failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for his death.
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“As the deceased Sabir Ansari can also be accepted to be a victim as per the proposition of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in paragraph 55 of the judgment in Re-Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons, we are of the view that for the purpose of this writ petition, the State authorities are liable to pay a compensation of Rs.5,00,000/- (Rupees Five Lakhs) to the next of kin of the deceased Sabir Ansari,” the court said in its order dated September 13.