A postmortem report has found 34 injury marks on the body of a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan who died under mysterious circumstances while in the custody of the Narcotics Control Bureau, raising questions over the circumstances of his death.
Jaswinder Singh, 35, died after his health deteriorated during questioning by the NCB in Amritsar, Punjab, the police had said in March. At the time, the family had alleged that the BSF jawan was assaulted by the Narcotics team and had protested outside the postmortem house.
According to reports, Jaswinder Singh, a resident of Jammu, had been taken into custody by a Narcotics team and brought to Amritsar for questioning. He died during the interrogation.
The postmortem report, conducted by doctors at the district civil hospital in Amritsar, was shared by the victim’s family and Sarabjit Singh Verka, chief investigator of the Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO).
According to the report, 25 injuries were inflicted two to four days before the jawan’s death, while nine injuries were caused around 18 to 24 hours before death. The report notes that this period coincides with the time the jawan was in NCB custody.
Reacting to the findings, the jawan’s wife, Lovjeet Kaur, alleged custodial torture. “The postmortem report has proved that my husband was tortured to death. Thirty-four injuries are not a small matter. NCB personnel were cruel to him while he was in custody,” she said.
Earlier in March, Gurmeet Kaur had said her son was serving as a constable in the BSF and had returned home on leave. “My son’s name was Jaswinder Singh. He was a constable in the BSF. He had come home on leave. He was supposed to return on the 3rd or 4th, but on the 3rd, the Narcotics department from Jammu picked him up. On the night of the 20th, we received a phone call saying your son had died and that we should come and take his body,” she said.