47-year-old dies in police custody, probe ordered

A 47-year-old man died in the custody of Malwani police on Thursday morning. The police claim that the deceased committed suicide an hour after he was brought for questioning. The matter has been transferred to unit 11 of the Mumbai crime branch for further investigations.

The deceased, Hari Chavan, was brought to the Malwani police station for questioning around 5am on Thursday in connection with a house break-in and theft case. "Chavan's son-in-law Saifan Kale, 22, was arrested on Wednesday night in connection with the case. He was accused of stealing mobile phones and electronics from various shops. Upon questioning, he told us that he had given some of the loot to Chavan, who had sold it.

Hence, we brought him for questioning, he was not placed under arrest when he died," said senior inspector Prakash Patil.

"Chavan was kept in a room on the first floor, he was not tortured. Around 8am, when his family came to see him, we sent them to the room. That's when he was found hanging by his own shirt from a bar of the window. There was nobody in the room when he hung himself," said an officer. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead before admission.

While Chavan was a roadside vendor, Kale has a mobile phone repair unit in Malwani. The family lives in Lakshmi Nagar, Ambujwadi slums of Malwani. Chavan is survived by three daughters, three sons and a wife.
A senior crime branch officer said, "The family has alleged foul play. We will be investigating the case from all angles and further action will be taken accordingly."