The Tripura Government on Wednesday deposited Rs. 10 lakh to the High Court as compensation to the family of Jamal Hussain, a native of Kalapania village under Sepahijala district who allegedly died due to custodial torture in September 2021.
The division bench of the Tripura High Court, comprising – Chief Justice T Amarnath Goud and Justice S G Chattopadhyay on Wednesday disposed of the contempt case against the Home Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) after the payment, and directed to transfer the amount to the deceased family.
Earlier, a division bench of the HC comprising Chief Justice Indrajit Mohanty and Justice S G Chattopadhyay on June 2022 ruled that Jamal Hussain’s death was caused by torture in police custody and directed the state government to pay Rs. 10 lakh in compensation to the family within four weeks.
As per UNI report, the 27-yrs old Jamal Hussain was found dead in the police custody of Sonamura police station five hours after his arrest on September 15, 2021, and claimed that he experienced from sudden cardiac arrest.
However, the deceased man’s family claimed that Jamal was killed by police in custody, as he didn’t have any medical history of such illness when picked up from residence at around 12:30 AM.
The police had allegedly assaulted Jamal in the house itself, while the family members objected to Jamal’s overnight imprisonment.
Police informed the court that Jamal complained of cardiac arrest just one hour after being arrested and did not have a proper medical examination; as a result, he was brought right away to a nearby hospital.
He was then referred to the sub-divisional hospital, where physicians determined that his condition was not critical and released him. In the morning, he was found lying on the floor of the lock-up.
The family members alleged Jamal was killed in custody, as he refused to go to the police station at night and the parents had also requested police allow them to bring him to police station in the early morning.
He became enraged, assaulted the man in front of the family members and threatened to teach a lesson in custody for disputing with the police.
