Hundreds gather outside Kharghar police station after man dies inside

Family members of the deceased outside the police station

The death of a 42-year-old contract painter inside Kharghar police station led to a law and order situation on Monday evening. The deceased, Ram Singh Chavhan, had gone to the police station after he was allegedly beaten up by some workers and then collapsed while waiting. Preliminary probe has held that Chavhan died of a heart attack and is awaiting confirmation. Three people have been arrested in the case.

As per cops, Chavhan, a resident of Kharghar Sector 13, had disputes with some people over work on Sunday. The dispute ensued on Monday when Varun Chavhan, 39, his brother Tarun, 33, and Laxmi Rathod, 45, allegedly hit Chavhan with bamboo, stones and bricks. However, the assaulters reached the police station before Chavhan to file a complaint.

"Varun and Tarun came to Kharghar police station and registered a non-cognisable complaint against Ram Singh Chavhan. Ram Singh's nephew Bhavesh Rathod, who had also sustained injuries in the scuffle, also arrived at the police station. The cops sent all of them for medical examination. Meanwhile, Ram Singh too arrived at the station and was asked to wait," said a police officer.

Ram Singh Chavhan, the deceased

One of Chavhan's relatives who was with him at the police station said, "One of the cops told me that as there was a complaint against Ram Singh for assault, they needed money from us to register a cross-complaint. So, I went out to arrange the money, but by the time I returned he had collapsed. We want to know what happened to him."

"Ram was asked to wait near the lock-up for a while. He suddenly developed chest pain and collapsed. He was first rushed to Medicity Hospital and then shifted to MGM Hospital in an autorickshaw as the ambulance was taking time. However, the doctors declared him dead on arrival," said Kishor Rathod, Chavhan's brother.

As news about Chavhan's death spread, hundreds of his relatives and friends arrived at the police station demanding investigation into his death. A police source said, "The divisional ACP and zonal DCP, six senior Inspectors from nearby police stations and additional police force had to be deployed to pacify the crowd. They only left after being told that those who fought with Chavhan would be booked."

Senior Inspector Sandipan Shinde rejected claims of demanding bribe and said, "There are several CCTV cameras inside the police station and the footage establishes there is nothing suspicious about the sequence of events." When mid-day requested to have a look at the footage, he declined.

Kharghar police then booked Varun, Tarun and Laxmi under Sections 302 (murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by weapons or means) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC and arrested them. Chavhan's body has been sent for post-mortem at the Panvel sub-district hospital and the report is awaited.

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Day in September when the fight started