SHILLONG: The Meghalaya Human Rights Commission (MHRC) has initiated a suo motu investigation into a custodial death at the Khanapara police station in Ri-Bhoi district on April 26.
The MHRC, on Wednesday, issued a notice to the Director General of Police, demanding a comprehensive report by May 17, to be submitted as per the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission.
According to emerging reports, Rudra, an alleged gang-leader, was apprehended on April 24 for possession of arms.
Following a court appearance on April 25, he was remanded to police custody for five days. But on April 26, the authorities reported that he took his life inside the lock-up.
Earlier, during interrogation in police custody, Rudra purportedly confessed to have concealed a homemade firearm in a nearby jungle.
Acting upon the deceased’s guidance, authorities successfully retrieved the firearm from the Ranibari jungle area, in the presence of an independent witness verifying the process.
Following the completion of legal formalities at the recovery site, the firearm was confiscated, and Rudra was returned to the Khanapara police station as there were no holding facilities available at the Rani Jirang Border Outpost (BOP).
Around 4 am on April 26, the duty sentry discovered his dead body. The police informed that Rudra hung himself from the bars of the lock-up with a piece of cloth.
In January, the Meghalaya High Court, during a case involving compensation for custodial deaths in Meghalaya, had revealed 53 custodial deaths in Meghalaya since 2012, with 28 classified as unnatural.
