NHRC notice to Maha govt, DGP over death of man beaten up in public in Jalgaon

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) The National Human Rights Commission on Friday said it has issued notices to the Maharashtra government and the state's police chief over reports that a 21-year-old man died after being allegedly beaten up in public by a group of people in a village in Jalgaon district.

Reportedly, the victim was sitting at a cafe with a young female person belonging to a different community when a group of 8-10 men confronted him, and after seeing a photograph in his mobile phone, "started assaulting him", the National Human Rights Commission said in a statement.

The perpetrators allegedly dragged the man to his village and continued to beat him up while parading through the streets, before leaving him near his house severely injured, it said.

The NHRC has taken "suo motu cognisance of a media report that a 21-year-old man died after severe beating in public by a group of people in a village in Jalgaon district, Maharashtra, on August 11".

The commission has observed that the content of the news report, if true, raises serious issues of violation of human rights.

Therefore, it has issued notices to the chief secretary and the director general of police of Maharashtra, seeking a detailed report in two weeks. The report is expected to include the status of the investigation as well as compensation, if any, paid to the next of kin of the victim, the statement said.

According to the media report published on August 13, the family members of the victim were also allegedly assaulted when they tried to save him. Reportedly, the severely injured victim was rushed to a hospital where the doctors "declared him dead on arrival", it said.

In another statement, the NHRC said it has taken suo motu cognisance of a "reported cremation of a man's body" by Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, after family members allegedly "failed to turn up" from Giridih in Jharkhand.

The GRP has claimed that the family "refused" to identify the body and receive it, while the family members have maintained that they "could not reach" Agra from Giridih in just a day's time to receive his body, the rights panel said.

Later, the family performed the last rites with his effigy, the statement said.

The commission has issued notices to the chief secretary and the director general of police of Uttar Pradesh, seeking a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.

Issuing the notices, the commission referred to its 2021 advisory for protecting the rights of the dead by upholding their dignity. It emphasised that the right to life, fair treatment and dignity, derived from Article 21 of the Constitution of India, extends not only to living persons but also to their dead bodies.

According to the media report carried on August 14, the family claimed that the police called and informed about the death and "gave one day to collect the body before it was sent for post-mortem and cremated locally", it said.

"But they did not have enough money to go there. Still, two men tried to go to Agra, but lost their way while changing trains at Dhanbad and came back. The family of the deceased is reportedly asking as to why the body of the deceased could not be sent to Jharkhand," the NHRC said.

Reportedly, the GRP claimed that the force had asked someone in the family to come down to identify the body, and even had promised to arrange and pay for their return travel to Agra, but "they declined", it said.

In a separate statement, the NHRC said it has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that in Lucknow, parents of an ailing girl were allegedly forced to rush her to a private hospital after the doctors at a government-run hospital "did not provide" her any treatment, despite repeated requests for two hours.

Reportedly, when her condition deteriorated, the father carried her on his motorcycle to a private hospital as the government hospital did not even provide an ambulance, it said.

The commission has issued a notice to the chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh, seeking a detailed report in two weeks, including the health status of the ailing girl.

According to the media report carried on August 14, the aggrieved family had travelled all the way from their village in Sitapur district to the government-run Ramsagar Mishra 100-Bed Combined Hospital in Bakshi Ka Talaab area of Lucknow for the medical treatment of the girl suffering from jaundice, it said. PTI KND RUK RUK