Tutor dies in cop attack - Punched after door hits head during robber hunt

TT, Barasat, Oct. 18: A 32-year-old private tutor in North 24-Parganas died early today after being struck on the head by a door that police allegedly forced open during a raid. The police have also been accused of assaulting him for delay in opening the door.

Chittaranjan Sardar, who lived alone in a rented room in Habra’s Bergum, 45km from Calcutta, was sleeping when five policemen in search of a robber banged and kicked on his door around 1.30am.

Sabita Ghosh, the landlady who lives in the room adjoining Sardar’s, said the bolt came loose as the policemen banged on the wooden door. The door swung open, hitting the tutor on the head.

“Chittaranjan fell down. The policemen picked him up by the collar and pushed and punched him,” Sabita said.

Sabita, a 40-year-old homemaker, said she called up Sardar’s nephew Dipak, who lives nearby.

“When I arrived, I saw the police beating up my uncle. They continued beating him up till he lost consciousness. Alerted by my cries for help, neighbours came rushing. Sensing trouble, the policemen carried my uncle to their jeep and took him to Habra State General Hospital,” said Dipak, 23, who works in a private firm.

Sardar was declared dead on arrival at the hospital, 5km from his rented home. Sources in the hospital said the immediate cause of death seemed to be cardiac arrest. “The exact cause will be known once the post-mortem report comes in,” a source said.

“My uncle must have been sleeping and that’s why he could not open the door immediately,” Dipak said. In his police complaint, he has alleged that five policemen had assaulted Sardar. The personnel, who had gone to the house following a complaint of robbery lodged at Habra police station, are yet to be identified.

Sabita, whose house has two rooms, said the police had first banged on her door. “When I did not allow them to enter my room and demanded to see a search warrant, they began banging and kicking on Chittaranjan’s door.

Bhaskar Mukherjee, the additional superintendent of police of North 24-Parganas, said: “We have received a complaint from the deceased’s family. We are investigating their (the policemen’s) role.”