Elderly Woman Allegedly Tortured By Cops In Police Station, Dies In Custody

KEY POINTS

The victim, identified as 40-year-old Mariyamma, was allegedly tortured to death by police
She was arrested last week after she was accused of stealing money from her employer
Disciplinary action has been initiated against a sub-inspector and two constables over the incident

A 40-year-old woman in India's Telangana state died Friday after she was allegedly tortured by police officers while she was in custody.

The woman, identified as Mariyamma, was allegedly assaulted at the Addagudur police station that was under the jurisdiction of the Rachakonda Police Commissionerate, Indian news outlet the Times Now first reported.

Mariyamma, who was a domestic help for a local priest in the village of Govindapuram named Father Balaswamy, was accused on June 15 by her employer of stealing RS 200,000 ($2,697) from his house. She was arrested days later on June 17 from her village in Khammam district over the alleged theft.

The victim was allegedly physically assaulted by police officers on the night of her arrest, a report by The News Minute said. She became unconscious on June 18 and died at the police station.

Police officials allegedly attempted to cover up the incident, Congress Scheduled Caste Cell state president Nagarigari Preetham said. Preetham also demanded action against the involved police officers.

Rachakonda Commissioner of Police Mahesh Bhagwat claimed disciplinary action has been initiated against a sub-inspector and two constables in Telangana’s Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri district after the alleged assault was revealed. Bhagwat said the officers will be removed until inquiries are completed.

A similar incident occurred in Miami-Dade County, Florida when a 37-year-old man accused of shooting police officers three months ago died last Wednesday while in the custody of authorities, prompting an investigation into whether or not he might have been killed by correctional guards in some sort of confrontation.

The Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and other authorities are investigating the death of Drew Sikes while he was in custody at the Federal Detention Center in Miami. The Bureau of Prisons, who announced his death on their website, did not indicate the nature of his death.

Sikes was arrested in March on a dozen charges of assaulting federal officers with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm.

Investigators suspect his death was caused by a violent confrontation with guards and not from suicide or from a fight with other inmates.