The Vivek Nagar Police took Darshan into custody after he was involved in an altercation with his neighbours in Sonnenahalli on 12 November.
Published Dec 01, 2025 | 5:31 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 01, 2025 | 5:31 PM
Custodial death. Representational image. (Wikimedia Commons)
Synopsis: On 26 November, the mother was informed that Darshan had died at the Nelamangala government hospital. The rehab centre authorities admitted him to the hospital after he had complained of difficulty in breathing.
The Criminal Investigation Department of the Karnataka police are investigating a case of alleged custodial torture that led to the death of a 22-year-old Dalit man.
The death came just under a month after three police personnel attached to the Varthur Police Station in eastern Bengaluru were suspended for assaulting a domestic worker and her husband in a theft case.
The Vivek Nagar Police took the man, Darshan, into custody after he was involved in an altercation with his neighbours in Sonnenahalli on 12 November.
Darshan’s mother, Adilakshmi, alleged that the police did not allow her to visit him despite repeated requests. Three days later, the police admitted him to the Unity Rehabilitation Centre at Adakamaranahalli, after reportedly taking ₹2,500 from his mother.
Adilakshmi said the police ignored her offer to admit him to the rehab centre. Darshan was reportedly an alcohol addict.
The mother said Darshan was assaulted in police custody. “My son was tortured and beaten in custody and later admitted to the rehab. Due to the torture, my son was unable to walk. Police forced me to pay ₹2,500 for his admission to the rehab,” Adilakshmi told reporters on Friday, 28 November.
She accused Assistant Sub-Inspector Pawan and two other policemen of assaulting her son inside the station.
On 26 November, the mother was informed that Darshan had died at the Nelamangala government hospital. The rehab centre authorities admitted him to the hospital after he had complained of difficulty in breathing, she was told.
Police said no case was registered against Darshan. However, they added that the man had gotten into a fight with the personnel at the station.
Bengaluru District Superintendent of Police CK Baba said that based on preliminary findings, the Madanayakanahalli police registered an FIR under BNS 103(1) (murder), BNS 127(3), and Section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The FIR named a police inspector and three policemen attached to the Viveknagar police station, and the rehab centre owners. The case has now been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for further investigation.
Adilakshmi’s said two officers assaulted Darshan while detaining him outside their residence on 12 November.
After he was taken into custody, she repeatedly requested the police to let her see him. On 15 November, the Viveknagar police arranged for his admission to a rehabilitation centre in Adakamaranahalli and reportedly demanded ₹2,500 from her, even though she had insisted that she could take him to a rehab centre herself.
When she went to the police station to hand over the money, she again requested to meet her son. She was allowed to see him only from a distance.
“He was shaking. His hands and legs were trembling. He could not even walk. He begged me to take him out of there,” Adilakshmi said in her complaint.
For several days after his admission to the rehab centre, she repeatedly called the facility to check on her son. Each time, she was told that Darshan was recovering.
However, on 26 November, the family received a call informing them that Darshan had died due to breathing problems. When Adilakshmi and her relatives rushed to the rehab centre, they were told that his body had been shifted to the Nelamangala government hospital.
“When we saw him, there were injuries on his chest. Both his hands were swollen and his back was bruised. His feet were swollen too,” she stated in her complaint.
Naveen, the supervisor of the rehab centre, told the media that the Viveknagar police called them to admit Darshan .
“At the time of admission, there were injury marks on him, and we have taken photographs of them. After he complained of breathing difficulties, he was first taken to a nearby private hospital and from there to the government hospital,” he claimed.
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties and Association of Prisoners’ Families for Justice, met the inspector of Viveknagar police station on Sunday, 30 November, and enquired details regarding the custodial death. They filed an RTI application seeking CCTV footages from the station.
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
