Murder Accused, On The Run For 30 Years, Dies In Custody Soon After Arrest

A 55-year-old murder case accused, who was at large for 30 years, died hours after his arrest in Bihar's Samastipur district, prompting his family to allege that he was tortured in police custody.

Rejecting the charge, the police said the condition of Krishna Bhagwan Jha alias Tunna Jha started deteriorating soon after he was arrested and he died in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.

"The cause of his death can only be ascertained after the post-mortem examination report comes," Assistant Superintendent of Police Sanjay Pandey told reporters.

Acting on a tip-off that Krishna Bhagwan Jha lives in Sarairanjan area, the police arrested him on Tuesday evening.

"He was brought to Sarairanjan police station. After some time, his condition started deteriorating. He was taken to the district government hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival," said an official of the police station.

Alleging that Krishna Bhagwan Jha was beaten up in police custody leading to his death, his family members and locals staged a protest near the district hospital on Tuesday night and demanded action against the erring personnel.

"After coming to know about the incident, I reached the hospital along with other officials and interacted with the victim's family and locals. The situation was brought under control and the body was sent for post-mortem examination," the ASP told reporters.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)