Family protests against police after death of elderly woman during raid in Paliganj

Patna: An elderly woman died under suspicious circumstances at a village in Paliganj subdivision of Patna late Friday night, following a raid conducted by the police at her house. Family members accused the police of physically assaulting Radhika Devi (64), wife of Satendra Bind, during the raid, resulting in her death. The raid was conducted around 12.30am in search of her two sons, who are accused of kidnapping and raping a minor girl of the same village.According to the statement given by the woman's daughter-in-law, Jeera Kumari, a scuffle broke out between the police and the family members during the raid. "Cops started beating us, and in the melee my mother-in-law fainted due to the jolt. Then all the policemen left from there. Later, we found that she had died," Jeera alleged.On Saturday morning, the family members of the deceased staged a protest by blocking the Paliganj-Masaurhi Road near Icchipur village by placing the body and burning tyres. The police cleared the blockage after convincing the protestors.Umeshwar Chaudhary, sub-divisional police officer II of Paliganj, told this newspaper that a medical team was formed and the postmortem was done at AIIMS-Patna. "We are waiting for the autopsy report. If the policemen are found guilty in this, then legal action will definitely be taken against them," he said.The SDPO further said that both the sons of Radhika were accused of kidnapping and raping a 17-year-old girl from the same village. "The incident took place about four days back. When the girl and her family went to the police station, their case was not registered by the SHO. When the matter came to light, an inquiry committee was set up and the allegations were found true. The SHO was suspended on Friday," Chaudhary said.Patna: An elderly woman died under suspicious circumstances at a village in Paliganj subdivision of Patna late Friday night, following a raid conducted by the police at her house. Family members accused the police of physically assaulting Radhika Devi (64), wife of Satendra Bind, during the raid, resulting in her death. The raid was conducted around 12.30am in search of her two sons, who are accused of kidnapping and raping a minor girl of the same village.According to the statement given by the woman's daughter-in-law, Jeera Kumari, a scuffle broke out between the police and the family members during the raid. "Cops started beating us, and in the melee my mother-in-law fainted due to the jolt. Then all the policemen left from there. Later, we found that she had died," Jeera alleged.On Saturday morning, the family members of the deceased staged a protest by blocking the Paliganj-Masaurhi Road near Icchipur village by placing the body and burning tyres. The police cleared the blockage after convincing the protestors.Umeshwar Chaudhary, sub-divisional police officer II of Paliganj, told this newspaper that a medical team was formed and the postmortem was done at AIIMS-Patna. "We are waiting for the autopsy report. If the policemen are found guilty in this, then legal action will definitely be taken against them," he said.The SDPO further said that both the sons of Radhika were accused of kidnapping and raping a 17-year-old girl from the same village. "The incident took place about four days back. When the girl and her family went to the police station, their case was not registered by the SHO. When the matter came to light, an inquiry committee was set up and the allegations were found true. The SHO was suspended on Friday," Chaudhary said.