Woman dies during a raid; three policemen detained

Srinagar:: Three policemen and a civilian have been detained for questioning following death of an elderly woman during a raid in Kokernag area of south Kashmir Anantnag district, police said today.

"We have called the three policemen and the son-in-law of the deceased woman for questioning but no arrests have been made so far," a senior police officer said.

Mukhti died on Friday night following a raid on her house in Ahlaan village in Kokernag area, 80 km from here, during an anti-narcotics drive.

Villagers alleged that the woman was beaten up by police men resulting in her death, but police claimed that she had died of a massive cardiac arrest.

Locals held protests yesterday, demanding arrest of the policemen responsible for the woman's death.

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The body was sent for postmortem and further action will be taken on the basis of the report, the police official said.

Police had conducted a raid on Mukhti's house following a tip-off about the presence of large quantity of 'dioscerea', a herb grown in the wild in south Kashmir but banned by government as it is used in making drugs.

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The locals alleged that the son-in-law of the deceased had given false information to police to settle personal scores with the bereaved family.