38-Year-Old Man Dies in Police Custody in Navi Mumbai

The deceased, identified as Sanjay Kantu Yadav, had been arrested by the Navi Mumbai International Airport Police in connection with a case and was subsequently remanded to police custody by a court. Yadav lived at Ananta Tower in Ulwe Sector 6 and was originally from Varanasi district in Uttar Pradesh.

According to the police, Yadav was lodged in the lock-up at NRI Sagari Police Station on October 8. Lock-up staff reportedly noticed him clenching his fists and repeatedly flexing his arms and legs. As his condition deteriorated, police personnel took him to Meenatai Thackeray Hospital in Nerul, where doctors declared him dead during treatment.

Police said Yadav had undergone a medical examination at Panvel Rural Hospital before his arrest and had not reported any health problems when he was produced before the court. During another medical examination conducted on October 6, he also reportedly did not complain of any illness or health-related problems.

Senior police officers have been informed about the death. An inquest is being conducted through videography in the presence of the Belapur First Class Judicial Magistrate, panch witnesses and members of Yadav's family.

The body has been sent to J.J. Hospital in Mumbai for a post-mortem examination. Police said further legal proceedings are underway.

The incident comes after another custodial death in Maharashtra last month. On September 22, the Maharashtra Police Crime Investigation Department was investigating the death of 35-year-old Imran Shaikh, who died while in the custody of the Railway Protection Force at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai.

Shaikh, who had travelled to Mumbai from Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh in search of employment, had approached the main RPF post at CSMT on September 20 to enquire about trains to Khandwa, according to Central Railway officials.

Officials said Shaikh appeared agitated and claimed that people were attempting to kill him. They alleged that he subsequently became aggressive and attacked RPF Sub-Inspector Aniket, while also causing injuries to himself.