80-year-old dies during police raid at residence of wanted criminal in Jharkhand's Khunti, magisterial inquiry underway

An 80-year-old man died while the police were conducting a raid at the home of a wanted criminal in Jharkhand. The incident happened in Rodo Islampur village of Khunti district at around 12:30 pm on Saturday.

According to the reports, the Torpa police reached the home of the wanted criminal, Izhar Ansari alias Kalu, to nab him. However, Kalu’s father, Mohd Nizamuddin Ansari, died during the raid. The police were on a mission to arrest Kalu, who was accused of selling banned meat.

Reportedly, Torpa police station in-charge Satyajit Kumar along with other officials reached Rodo village to arrest Kalu. When they reached his home, the doors were locked. Initially, the police asked the family to open the door, but when no one opened it for about an hour, they broke it.

The villagers allege that the police barged into the house of Kalu by breaking three doors. Kalu’s wife, children, father and other members were present in the house. The villagers alleged that Kalu’s father suffered a heart attack when he heard the policemen’s voice.

Soon after, the villagers and Kalu’s relatives got furious and created a ruckus. The villagers blamed the police for Kalu’s father’s demise.

A family member said those people came inside and behaved very rudely. She said the police entered the house with a camera and when she asked them not to shoot because there are girls, they said they will blur their picture. She said she requested them not to create chaos because there are two patients in the house.

She claimed that they asked for the license but they didn’t show and entered the house. She stated that they dragged out her grandfather, who was the heart patient and he died on spot. They also used abusive language, she added.

After getting the information, SDO Aniket Sachan, LRDC Jitendra Munda, SDPO, and other officers reached the location at around 2:30 pm and tried to pacify the situation. Khunti SP Aman Kumar said prima facie states police were not involved in the death of a senior citizen.

Based on the allegations by the family members, SP Kumar said a case has been registered, and a magisterial inquiry will also be conducted in this regard.