Lucknow, Oct 28 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday met the family members of businessman Mohit Pandey, who died in police custody due to alleged assault, and announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for them, officials said.

The government will also take care of the education expenses of the children of the deceased, they said.

Following a ruckus, the authorities on Sunday filed an FIR against the police station personnel on charges of murder and criminal conspiracy. The head of the police station, who was among those registered, was suspended.

According to a statement, the chief minister offered his condolences to the bereaved family and instructed officials to provide an amount of Rs 10 lakh, housing, free education for the children and access to various government schemes.

He also assured the family that those responsible for Pandey’s death would face strict consequences and promised that the culprits would not be spared.

The opposition has attacked the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the recent incidents of custodial deaths.

On Monday, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav fired another salvo, claiming that the BJP government has destroyed the state’s police system, which sets “new records” every year in custodial deaths under its leadership.

“I wish those who take life could give life in return. Those who put out the light of one’s house on Diwali, it is hoped that they will not light the lamps of falsehood, will not try to dispel the deep darkness of their reign with false light.

“The public is asking if a bulldozer will be used on the person who died in custody? Condemnable!” Yadav posted on X in Hindi.

In a statement issued here, Akhilesh Yadav claimed that 451 people died in police custody in 2021 in UP.

“In 2022, this figure has increased to 501. The number of deaths in police custody is continuously increasing,” he said.

“The BJP government has ruined the police system of the state. Police kill people instead of protecting them. Uttar Pradesh sets new records every year in custodial deaths under the BJP government.

“Police are harassing innocent people at the behest of BJP leaders and workers. Police behavior has become exploitative and tyrannical under this government. Poor people feel helpless,” he said adding, “Two youths died in police beating in two weeks” in Lucknow.

“The police are completely out of control under this government. The public has lost faith in the BJP government and the police. Since the BJP government came to power in the state, deaths in police custody are increasing every year,” he said.

Pandey’s mother Tapeshwari Devi along with his wife and children visited the Chief Minister’s official residence on Monday morning. After the meeting, the family expressed a sense of relief.

Tapeshwari Devi said, “We are satisfied after meeting the Chief Minister. He assured us that he was fully aware of the case and that there would be no leniency. Once the investigation is completed, strict action will be taken against those found guilty.” Bakshi Ka Talab MLA Yogesh Kumar Shukla and Councilor Shailendra Verma were also present during the meeting.

Samajwadi Party MLA Ravidas Mehrotra and Pooja Shukla, who was the party’s candidate from Lucknow North region in the last assembly polls, also met Mohit Pandey’s family and handed over a check of Rs 1 lakh to them on behalf of party president Akhilesh Yadav.

Pandey, a resident of Jainabad in Chinhat area, died at a hospital in police custody. His family members alleged that police brutality was the cause of his death.

The incident triggered a major political furor, with the Samajwadi Party, Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party slamming the BJP government.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday alleged that the BJP has “established such jungle raj in the state that police have become synonymous with brutality”.

BSP chief Mayawati called the incident “highly condemnable” and said the government must take effective steps to provide justice to the victim’s family.

Meanwhile, the CPI (ML) has expressed deep concern over the “increasing” number of custodial deaths in the state, including in the capital Lucknow.

The party demanded a judicial inquiry into Pandey’s death and the immediate arrest of the police station in-charge.

State secretary Sudhakar Yadav claimed in a statement that a “police raj” was taking place in the state.

“The police have become autocratic. Break the law without fear. There is no respect for human rights. … if the police officers guilty of custodial killing had been punished as soon as possible, then such incidents would certainly have been reduced,” he said.

According to police, Pandey was rushed to a community health center after he felt unwell at the police station. From there he was sent to a larger facility where he died, they said.

However, Shobharam, the victim’s brother who claimed he was also briefly held in custody, alleged that the police beat Pandey “mercilessly” in front of him and sent him to hospital only after he died.

A CCTV clip surfaced on the internet on Sunday purportedly showing Pandey lying inside the jail. Family members of the deceased accused the police of deliberately leaking only a small part of the footage to save their backs, claiming that Pandey was beaten to death.

A detailed post-mortem report is awaited.

Pandey’s is the second case of alleged death in police custody in Lucknow this month. On October 11, a Dalit youth Aman Gautam, a resident of Vikas Nagar, died in police custody. PTI ABN KIS NAV RT RT

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