New Delhi, July 25 (IANS) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo motu cognisance of the suicide of a man after alleged physical torture in police custody in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad.

The police had called the victim to a police station following a complaint against him by his wife. The following night, the victim hanged himself with a saree in his room, leaving a message written on the pants he was wearing.

Taking note of a press report, the apex human rights body said the contents of the news report, if true, raise a serious violation of the human rights of the victim.

The NHRC issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police and called for a detailed report on the matter within two weeks.

According to the media report, carried on July 16, the victim reached the police station with his father for a compromise, but he was tortured and a bribe was demanded to settle the matter.

Following the uproar, an FIR was registered against victim’s father-in-law, brother-in-law, and one other, along with constables Yashwant Yadav and Mahesh Upadhyay of the Hathiyapur outpost.

Both constables have been suspended and sent to police lines by Superintendent of Police. Established under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the NHRC, an autonomous statutory body, is an embodiment of India’s concern for the promotion and protection of human rights.

Its primary role is to protect and promote human rights, defined as the rights relating to life, liberty, equality, and dignity of individuals guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants and enforceable by courts in India.

The apex human rights body has the power to take suo motu (on its own motion) action based on media reports, public knowledge or other sources, without receiving a formal complaint of human rights violations.

–IANS

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