Congolese 'custodial' death sparks protest; CM defends police

Bengaluru: Police resorted to a lathi-charge on a group of Congolese who staged a protest over alleged custodial death of their compatriot on Monday near JC Nagar police station here.

The victim identified as Joel was reportedly found in possession of narcotic substances. Police said that Joel complained of chest pain while in custody and was moved to a private hospital. Upon admission, he collapsed due to a suspected cardiac arrest.

Hearing about the arrest, several nationals of the African community protested outside the JC police station and raised slogan: 'Black Lives Matter. Six were reportedly injured in the lathi-charge.

Responding to the incident, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the lathi-charge by the police was a response to the protestors turning violent. He also added that "For the last 2 years, we have been strictly monitoring drug issues. There are many African nationals in the State, some of them are staying even after visa expiry. We are taking strict action in the matter and are arresting them under PIT NDPS Act".

Upon investigation, it was found out that Joel's student visa had expired.

Alikali, vice-president, Congolese Community in Bengaluru, told reporters that, "A student from our community was arrested around 1 am yesterday. This morning we got the news of his sudden death. He was fully healthy. People protested because they think police brutality was meted out to him".

He added that though the JC Nagar police claimed they didn't touch him and he died of a cardiac attack, many people including his girlfriend suspected police brutality. "We want to get a clear picture," he said.