Bhopal engineering student dies after police beating; two constables suspended
A 22-year-old engineering student, Udit Gaayki, died after allegedly being beaten by two police constables in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
Gaayki, a final-year B.Tech student from a prominent private engineering college near Bhopal, was reportedly assaulted around 1:30 a.m. on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday while returning from a party.
CCTV footage of the incident shows two on-duty constables brutally beating Gaayki with batons.
He reportedly suffered pancreatic hemorrhage, collapsed unconscious, and died a few hours later at AIIMS Bhopal.
The accused constables, identified as Santosh Bamniya and Saurabh Arya, who were on night patrol duty, have been suspended.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-2) Vivek Singh told The Hindu that incident began after Gaayki and his friends allegedly broke a bottle on the road.
“While the other two boys fled on their two-wheeler, Udit started running after spotting the police. The constables caught him in a nearby lane, where the alleged assault took place,” he said.
One of Gaayki’s friends told The Indian Express that he was driving him home when police intercepted them.
Udit, the only son in his family and brother-in-law to a local DSP, was allegedly beaten after police demanded bribe.
As Gaayki ran, the officers chased and caught him. “We later heard sounds of fighting. When we reached, his shirt was torn and his body was covered in marks, especially on his head,” the friend said, adding that the constables allegedly demanded ₹10,000 in bribe to stop the assault.
A post-mortem examination conducted at AIIMS Bhopal found pancreatic hemorrhage and baton-inflicted injuries, which DCP Singh confirmed.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.
Enraged by the incident, Udit’s relatives and friends started gathering outside the AIIMS-Bhopal and later protested outside the Piplani police station.
