Families of five arrested in Ashoknagar man's death question police action, seek magisterial inquiry

Dhanpal Rajak died in June in Haidar village, under the Dehat police station area of Ashoknagar. Relatives of the five youths arrested in the case have questioned the police action. On Thursday, they went to the Superintendent of Police's office and submitted a memorandum to the Additional Superintendent of Police. They allege that the five youths have been wrongly made accused in a murder case. The families have demanded a magisterial inquiry.

According to the memorandum, Rajak's body was found in a pit near Nadia on June 14, 2026. After learning of this, his relatives brought the body to Ashoknagar in an auto-rickshaw without informing the police. The body was then placed in front of the district hospital and a road blockade was staged. Police and administration officials who reached the spot persuaded the protesters and had the blockade lifted.

Relatives of the arrested youths said that after the incident, police called Sachin Ahirwar, Ashish Ahirwar, Ranjeet Ahirwar, Bahadur Ahirwar and Nitesh Ahirwar to the police station for questioning. After their statements were recorded, they were sent home. The families allege that police gave them no information after that, and on November 5 arrested all five and sent them to district jail.

The families also allege in the memorandum that police did not visit the spot to investigate at the time of the incident and did not record statements of villagers. According to them, no inquiry was held by an executive magistrate either.

The families have demanded an inquiry into a suspicious death under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. They have also asked for a fresh investigation under the provisions of Sections 175 and 176. They further demanded a fair inquiry into the role of the relatives who brought the body from the village to Ashoknagar, and of the auto-rickshaw used for the purpose.