Annual Report 2013-14 4.66 Pursuant to the directions of the Commission, relevant reports were received from the authorities. 4.67 The inquest, conducted by a Judicial Magistrate, revealed 12 injuries on the body of the deceased Ajay Mishra. In the postmortem report, nine abrasions, two contusions and the right eye blackened were mentioned and the cause of death was given as “cardio-pulmonary arrest leading to shock and death”. 4.68 The magisterial enquiry, conducted by a Judicial Magistrate, took testimony, among others, from the father of the deceased, who claimed that his son was arrested on the 2 March 2012. He deposed that on 4 March 2012 when he asked about his son, Ajay Mishra from the officer in charge of Police Station Davoh, he was taken out from the lockup and beaten mercilessly in his presence. The father of the deceased alleged that he was asked to pay ` 50,000 to the officer for his release, but despite having paid the demanded money, his son was again beaten in front of him and not released and a further sum of ` 50,000 was demanded. The father of the deceased Ajay further stated that he then met the SDPO, who gave him an assurance that his son would not be beaten, but would be charge sheeted after Holi. The father of Ajay found his son dead on 12 March 2012. Other witnesses confirmed during the magisterial enquiry that Ajay Mishra had been arrested by Shri R.C. Arya, the officer in-charge of Police Station Davoh, on the 2 March 2012. News of the arrest had been carried by a local newspaper on 3 March 2012. The Commission observed that it had been established from the findings of the magisterial enquiry that the Superintendent of Police, Bhind had falsely reported to the Commission that the arrest was made on 7 March 2012. 4.69 The magisterial enquiry also confirmed that Ajay Mishra had been beaten on the 3 and 6 March 2012 in police custody. He was shown arrested by the police on the 7 March 2012 in police custody, produced before the Magistrate on the 8 March 2012, and taken on police remand till 12 March 2012. Witnesses confirmed to the magisterial enquiry that he had again been beaten during the period of remand. According to the report of the magistrate, when Ajay Mishra was medically examined after his formal arrest on the 7 March 2012, the doctor found three injuries on him, whereas 12 injuries were recorded in the postmortem report. The Commission observed that it was a clear indication that he had been savagely beaten throughout the period that he was in the custody of the police, first in illegal detention and thereafter on remand. 4.70 The Magistrate concluded that i) the late Ajay Mishra had indeed been in the custody of the police from the 2 March 2012, though he was shown arrested on the 7 March, 2012; ii) he had been kept in illegal detention from 2 to 7 March; iii) had been beaten throughout at the police station; and iv) had died from injuries which caused loss of blood, resulting in cardio-pulmonary arrest. NHRC | 39