Brijpal Maurya was picked up by revenue officials in Budaun

It has been six days since Brijpal Maurya fell in the revenue jail of Sahaswan in Budaun district and subsequently died during treatment, but an FIR is yet to be lodged against officials responsible for his ill-treatment during custody, alleged his brother Mahesh Maurya.

The police confirmed that an FIR had not been lodged but a magisterial inquiry was under way.

‘Mistaken identity’

In his complaint to the police, Mr. Mahesh said his 40-year-old brother, who worked as a distributor of Ayurvedic medicines, was picked up by revenue officials on September 23 from his village Zarifnagar Durgpur for non-payment of a power bill of ₹81,497 against his shop. He told The Hindu over the phone that the shop didn’t belong to his brother and it was a case of ‘mistaken identity’.

“Even if he was in the wrong, he was not supposed to be kept in custody for 11 days and ill-treated. He was dragged by the revenue officials to the police vehicle like a hardened criminal. When he told us he was not feeling well in custody, we pleaded to the district officials and local MP Sanghamitra Maurya but nobody came forward to help us. We were not told when he was being taken to the hospital; we were informed after he passed away,” he claimed.

He also underlined that a video of his brother surfaced after his death, in which he explained how he was being framed.

“The administration is creating pressure on us to arrive at a compromise,” said Mr. Mahesh, adding that the family would approach the judiciary if they didn’t get a “just” response from the local administration.

Ashok Kumar Tripathi, SSP, Budaun, confirmed that an FIR has not been registered but reminded that a magisterial inquiry has been ordered by the District Magistrate. “The post-mortem report says that the cause of death could not be ascertained,” said Mr. Tripathi.

Political gain

Political parties have jumped into the fray. The Congress and Samajwadi Party have linked the case to the increase in electricity tariff in the State. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted in support of Brijpal Maurya and former Samajwadi Party MP from Budaun, Dharmendra Yadav visited the deceased’s family. “We are demanding adequate compensation for the family and if the FIR is not registered, we will sit on an indefinite fast from Wednesday,” said Shafi Ahmed, president, Youth Congress, Budaun.