A Bengal man has died after allegedly being beaten up by the police for being out during lockdown in Howrah. The family of the deceased claim that the man had went out to buy milk. However, the police resorted to a brutal lathi charge to disperse the crowd that had gathered around the milk booth.
The man has been identified as Lal Swami. According to his family, he was severely injured and was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
Meanwhile, the police has denied this version of events. Deputy Commissioner of Howrah Police Raju Mukherjee told the media that the man was suffering from heart ailments and died of heart failure. In addition, he also denied that a police lathi charge took place to disperse the gathering.
The opposition has denounced the step. BJP has appealed for a judicial inquiry into the death as well as compensation to the family of the deceased man. Additionally, they have also demanded the suspension of the policemen involved in the incident.
West Bengal currently has 10 cases of the Coronavirus. There has been 1 death in the state owing to the virus. CM Mamata Banerjee had announced a complete lockdown of the state from Monday till March 31.
The police has been cracking down on people violating the lockdown. While Section 188 of the IPC allows police to take action against those violating curfew, it does permit people to go out and buy essential goods.
PM Narendra Modi has assured people that essential commodities and medicines would still be available during the lockdown. However, there is confusion about how the people would get those commodities without stepping out during the three week-national lockdown.
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