Tension Erupts in India's Uttar Pradesh After Dalit Cleaner Dies in Police Custody

On Sunday, cash worth INR2.5 million ($33,400 approx.) was stolen from Uttar Pradesh state's Jagdishpura police station. Two days later, on Tuesday, police detained a number of local sanitation workers, including Arun Valmiki who belonged to the Dalit community.

The opposition parties in India's Uttar Pradesh state, which is gearing up for elections, have severely criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government after a Dalit sanitation worker, named Arun Valmiki, died in police custody on Wednesday morning.

Dalits, also known as "untouchables" because other Indians consider them too lowly to communicate with, make up approximately 21 percent of Uttar Pradesh's total population of 204 million.

The criticism came as Congress party's general-secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was prevented from meeting Valmiki's family in Agra city.

His death was also condemned by Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the state's main opposition Samajwadi Party and former state chief.

In UP's Agra, Rs 25 lakh in cash was recently stolen from a police station. Police picked up a sanitation worker, was interrogated ans later cops claimed to have recovered Rs 15 lakh from his home. The accused sanitation worked later died in police custody. Case solved. pic.twitter.com/KaXRnx1TKV

— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) October 20, 2021

In a tweet, the Congress party stated: "Ruling BJP is trying to kill constitutional rights of citizens, crushing the voices that demand justice."

पुलिस हिरासत में मारे गये वाल्मीकि समाज के युवक अरुण वाल्मीकि के परिजनों के प्रति संवेदनाएं व्यक्त करने जा रहीं श्रीमती @priyankagandhi जी को रोका जाना निंदनीय है।

भाजपा संवैधानिक अधिकारों की हत्या कर रही है, न्याय की आवाजों को कुचल रही है। pic.twitter.com/NzPEjNMXas

— Congress (@INCIndia) October 20, 2021

Police arrested Arun, a sanitation worker, on Tuesday morning for allegedly stealing INR2.5 million from the police station's stockroom.

The Uttar Pradesh force claimed that they recovered some of the money from Arun, whose health deteriorated during the night for reasons as yet unspecified. He was taken to hospital, where he died.

Samajwadi Party leader Yadav demanded a strict inquiry be conducted into the police officers who were involved in the "murder".

भाजपा सरकार में पुलिस खुद अपराध कर रही है तो फिर अपराध कैसे रुकेगा?

आगरा में पहले सांठगांठ कर थाने के मालखाने से 25 लाख की चोरी कराई गई फिर सच छिपाने के लिए गिरफ्तार किए गए सफाईकर्मी की कस्टडी में हत्या स्तब्ध करती है!

हत्यारे पुलिस कर्मियों पर हो सख्त कार्रवाई। pic.twitter.com/WOzn3EZ8mA

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) October 20, 2021

Many activists have lambasted the BJP government and raised questions on the law and order in the state.

Police or predators?

A SC youth was killed in custody by UP policemen in Agra. First the cops got ₹25 lakh stolen under their protection and then beat up a sweeper to death to hide their crime. Arrest the police predators. #JusticeforArunValmiki

— Suraj Kumar Bauddh (@SurajKrBauddh) October 20, 2021

The BSP(Bahujan samaj party) delegation demanded from the administration that by conducting a CBI inquiry into the matter, the culprits should be given the harshest punishment. #JusticeforArunValmiki

pic.twitter.com/IDD1mLmv9b

— Susheel Shinde (@Shinde_Voice) October 20, 2021

Members of the Valmiki (Dalit) community also converged outside the house of the victim Arun and SN Medical College, where his post-mortem was to take place.

His family members claimed that Arun was beaten up by police, which led to his death, according to a Hindi news channel ABP report.

In view of mounting tension, the local administration has deployed police as a precautionary step to maintain peace in the area.

This year, the federal Modi government said in parliament that in the past three years, a total of 348 people died in police custody in India, and 5,221 died in judicial custody. In the same time in the state of Uttar Pradesh, 23 people died in police custody, and 1,295 deaths were recorded in judicial custody.

The BJP, led by Yogi Adityanath, has held sway in Uttar Pradesh since 2017 and is set to face legislative assembly elections in early 2022.