A newborn baby has reportedly died during a police raid in the Koshodinghi village of Jharkhand's Giridih district, reported news agency PTI. The incident took place in the early hours of Wednesday, when police officers entered a house to arrest two individuals in connection with a case.
According to Giridih Superintendent of Police Amit Renu, the family has alleged that the four-day-old boy was crushed under police boots during the raid. However, Renu stated that there were no external injuries found on the baby's body, and the cause of death will be determined after the post-mortem examination, reported PTI.
“I managed to flee when the police came knocking around 3.20 am today. My other family members also moved out. The child was sleeping on a bed inside one of the rooms. The policemen stepped on to the bed looking for me and trampled the child. When my family members went inside the room later, they saw the child dead,” Bhushan Pandey was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
A team of doctors will conduct the autopsy, and a magistrate will supervise the process with proper videography. The police officer added that they currently have no information that any police officer had caused harm to the infant. Once the postmortem report comes, the police will be able to establish what exactly happened.
Four to five police personnel went to execute non-bailable warrants against Bhushan Pandey, the grandfather of the deceased infant, and another person. Following the incident, a video went viral in which a person, believed to be Bhushan Pandey, claimed that the police officers raided their house at 3:20 am and forced their way in when they refused to open the door. He stated that the baby was sleeping in the house when the officers started searching it, leading to the infant's death.
Chief Minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren has ordered an investigation into the matter. "Kindly investigate the said matter and inform while taking action," Soren tweeted, tagging the Jharkhand Police, Giridih Police, and Giridih DC.
The police officers involved will face consequences if the allegations are found to be true, according to Renu.
(With inputs from PTI.)