Mumbai: RPF custodial death case gets new twist

JJ Hospital

A new twist has occurred into the custodial death of 22-year-old Jatin Baria. Baria, who was in custody of Railway Protection Force (RPF), Mumbai Central, died on July 3 at JJ Hospital. According to the Crime Branch, who is investigating the custodial death, Baria before dying in the hospital, had told cops that he drank phenyl by mistake, whereas, RPF personnels have recorded statements, saying that Baria consumed phenyl while on the way to Railway Court, not in the custody.

Baria, a resident of Tulshiwadi, Tardeo, was picked up by RPF, Mumbai Central, on June 28 for alleged iron theft from the Mumbai Central workshop. He was produced in court on the same day, which remanded him in police custody for one day. On June 30, he was rushed to JJ Hospital, as he allegedly drank phenyl. He then recorded his statement with the cops and said that he drank the phenyl from a bottle lying near him, thinking it was water. He died on July 3. The case was immediately referred to Tardeo Police Station, which registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) with connection to the incident. Considering it as a custodial death, the probe of the incident was transferred to the crime branch.

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During the preliminary investigations, it was revealed that, RPF cops claimed, Baria hadn't consumed poison while he was in custody. In fact, he took the bottle while he was taken to court on June 30. The statement says "We were taking him to court, and walking past a car shed. That's when he picked up a bottle lying there and consumed it. We immediately rushed him to JJ Hospital". The discrepancy in the statements from RPF and the deceased has created suspicion over the exact sequence of event.

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A crime branch official confirmed the two different versions of the incident, "Jatin, before his death, told cops that, he drank the poison by mistake, whereas RPF claims he picked the bottle from the car shed and consumed it. We need to verify the statements of the RPF personnel and substantiate with statements of others, or possibly with CCTV footage if there is any," said a crime branch official. Baria had been externed by Tardeo cops three months ago for theft cases registered against him, and was also a drug addict and violent in nature.

3 July
The date on which Jatin Baria died at JJ Hospital

RPF Speak

"We have formed a committee which is conducting an inquiry. The final post-mortem report is still awaited, and once the report is received, we can figure whose responsibility this is," said SR Gandhi, Senior Divisional Security, Commissioner (Western Railway).

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With inputs by Suraj Ojha

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