Jaipur: A judicial inquiry has commenced into the death of a 16-year-old boy from Madhya Pradesh whose family alleged that he was assaulted by personnel from Jaipur’s Muhana police station during an illegal detention. The teenager, Rituraj Lohar, fell gravely ill allegedly in police custody, leading to his death early Monday morning.The boy’s family, who have since returned to their native village near Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh, demanded a judicial inquiry and insisted on a medical board post-mortem before they agreed to take Rituraj’s body.According to a senior police officer from Jaipur Police Commissionerate, ACP Hemendra Kumar Sharma is leading one investigation into the alleged involvement of the Muhana police, while a separate probe is being conducted by the Narayan Vihar station house officer into the allegations outlined in an FIR filed by Rituraj’s mother. This FIR names three individuals—Manoj, Lokendra and Mahesh—and two unidentified men but does not specifically accuse police officers.In her media statement following Rituraj’s death, Hema accused Muhana police of illegal detention and torture. “My son was badly beaten, causing fractures and serious injuries,” she asserted.Rituraj had travelled to Jaipur on Sept 17 to meet his father Prakash, who flew from Dubai to Jaipur airport, but was allegedly taken from the airport by policemen in plainclothes to a hotel, where the alleged torture was committed.Disputing this, local police claimed Prakash had taken money from some people after promising to arrange gold at a low price, and that these men later tracked down the father and son after a dispute over payment and allegedly assaulted the duo.Rituraj was initially treated at a private hospital in Muhana for a suspected snakebite, where he received 10 vials of anti-venom and was later transferred to SMS Hospital. A hospital doctor, on condition of anonymity, said the private hospital’s discharge summary mentioned anti-venom injections and ventilator support. “When he was brought to SMS Hospital, he was already critical,” he said. The doctor said Rituraj had swelling on his face and visible injury marks, indicating his condition was not consistent with snakebite and could have been caused by injuries. “Specialists from neurology, orthopaedics, medicine, critical care, ophthalmology and other departments treated him, but he could not survive,” the doctor said.A day earlier, the State Human Rights Commission also intervened, instructing the preservation of CCTV footage from the Muhana police station and ordering an independent review of the incident. Family advocate Somraj Panwar emphasised, “The police are responsible for Rituraj’s death and have manipulated facts to shield themselves.”
Judicial inquiry begins into death of MP teenager in alleged police custody | Jaipur News
