A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the alleged custodial death of Kamji Gond, a resident of Gaighat village in Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district. The inquiry was ordered by District Magistrate Mangla Prasad Singh, with Additional District Magistrate Anil Kumar tasked with leading the probe. Kumar has invited anyone with evidence or statements related to the case to submit them within a week, with the inquiry report due to be submitted within the same timeframe.
Gond died during treatment at the Trauma Centre of Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi on the night of July 10. His son, Vishal Gond, lodged a complaint with Revati police, who subsequently registered an FIR against sub-inspector Sachin Saroj, constable Ankit Singh, village head Ashutosh Shankar Singh, Suraj Kannaujia, and Manish Yadav under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to murder and other offences. Sub-inspector Saroj and constable Singh were suspended immediately after the FIR was registered, while Revati Station House Officer Raj Keshar Singh was transferred to the police lines.
The Samajwadi Party has announced that a high-level delegation will visit Gaighat village on Friday to express condolences to the bereaved family and ascertain the facts surrounding the incident. The delegation will include Ballia MPs Sanatan Pandey and Ramashankar Vidyarthi ‘Rajbhar’, former Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly and party national secretary Ram Govind Chaudhary, and other senior party officials. The party has stated that it stands firmly with the victim’s family and will continue its democratic struggle to ensure justice and strict action against those responsible.
The Congress has also demanded justice for the victim, holding a candle march in Ballia town on Wednesday evening. The march began from the railway station premises and culminated at Shaheed Chowk, with District Congress president Umashankar Pathak stating that the party would continue to fight at every level to secure justice for the bereaved family. Delegations from the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation and the Communist Party of India have also visited the victim’s family, demanding a judicial inquiry into the incident.
According to the FIR, Gond was taken to the police station by Saroj and Ankit Singh on the afternoon of July 8, where he was allegedly assaulted. He was later taken to a brick kiln, assaulted again, and abandoned in a nearby orchard. The post-mortem examination was conducted at BHU, but Vishal Gond has expressed dissatisfaction with the findings of the autopsy.
