Custodial death case: HC asks why independent probe can't be

The Uttarakhand High Court has sought a reply from the state government asking it why an independent probe should not be carried out into the custodial death of a youth in Kashipur last month.
Taking cognisance on its own, Chief Justice K M Joseph and Justice V K Bisht yesterday asked the state government to file a counter affidavit explaining why a probe by an independent agency cannot be ordered into the incident.
Ziyauddin Raza, who was under in custody in connection with the alleged kidnapping of a girl, was found hanging at a police chowki in Kashipur last month with his family alleging that he was tortured to death.

Not satisfied with the ongoing police investigation into the case, Raza's father has been demanding a CBI probe into his son's mysterious death.
While the state government's reply in the matter is awaited, the court has put up questions on the suspicious circumstances in which Raza died.
While it has been claimed that Raza was found hanging from the ceiling of his cell, the court has asked how a person as short as him who stood at five feet five inches could manage to reach the 12 feet high ceiling to hang himself.