Prayagraj, The Allahabad High Court has rejected bail applications of four Uttar Pradesh police personnel in connection with the 2021 custodial death case in Jaunpur district.
Rejecting their pleas, Justice Samit Gopal cited the CBI chargesheet, which accused the cops of causing grievous injuries to Krishna Kumar Yadav, alias Pujari, to extract a confession and subsequently murdering him by inflicting injuries sufficient to cause his death. The CBI had also mentioned that false records were created to portray his death as an accident or assault by unknown persons rather than physical torture in police custody. A relative claimed in the FIR that Krishna was allegedly unable to stand and shouted to his mother to save him, saying that the police would kill him. The family was subsequently informed that he died in police custody. The Supreme Court had observed that the case involved an allegation of custodial death against a member of the police force and that a stricter approach was warranted while considering bail.
The CBI had filed the chargesheet against 11 police personnel after an FIR was lodged on February 12, 2021, under Sections 302 , 34 , 120-B , among others, of the Indian Penal Code at Baksha village of Jaunpur district. Krishna Kumar Yadav was allegedly taken from his house around 3 am on February 11, 2021, by a Special Operation Group team and then by the Baksa SHO, along with other police personnel, according to the FIR.
A division bench of the high court on September 8, 2021, had directed the transfer of the investigation of the custodial death case to the CBI.
