Ludhiana: A 35-year-old man arrested in a drug-peddling case allegedly died by suicide in police custody at Hambran police post under Ladhowal police station on Thursday.Police said Balbir Singh, a resident of Khera Bet, allegedly hanged himself with the zipper of a mattress inside the lock-up. Balbir was arrested two days ago with 10 grams of heroin, after which a court remanded him in police custody. He was scheduled to be taken for recovery proceedings on Thursday morning.According to the police, Balbir was fine till around 8am, after which a policeman who went to call him found him hanging. Police claimed he had cut the zipper of a mattress, fashioned it into a noose and hanged himself.A police officer said Balbir appeared to have died inside the lock-up, but as a precautionary measure, he was taken to the civil hospital, where doctors declared him dead.ADCP-III Dharavath Sai Prakash said the judicial magistrate was conducting an inquiry and further legal action would be taken based on the findings.Asked whether action would be taken in case of negligence, a police officer said it was premature to comment at this stage as the judicial probe was on. He added that a postmortem examination would be conducted and the exact cause of death would be established on the basis of the postmortem report as well as the findings of the ongoing investigation.In March 2022, a man arrested in a snatching case allegedly died by suicide inside the lock-up of Salem Tabri police station, prompting a judicial inquiry and the registration of a case against two police personnel for alleged negligence. The deceased, Ashish Kumar, was allegedly found hanging from a girder inside the lock-up.Trail of custodial deathsFeb 2020: Deepak Shukla, 26, died a day after being sent to Ludhiana Central Jail. His family alleged he had been brutally beaten while in police custody. Two policemen were shifted to Police Lines and a judicial inquiry was orderedFeb 2025 — Punjab gangster Sagar Neutron, 26, died while in custody at PGIMER after being shifted from Sangrur jail to hospitals in Patiala and Chandigarh. Authorities attributed the death to health complications, while his family alleged foul play and demanded an independent probe. His death led to a protest in LudhianaApril 2026 — A 31-year-old undertrial died in Ludhiana Central Jail. His family alleged he had been tortured after an attempted escape and had injury marks on his body. Jail authorities denied foul play, saying that he suffered fits and died while being taken to hospital. A judicial inquiry is underway.May–July 2024 — Ramandeep Kaur case: The CBI re-registered the FIR into the 2017 custodial death of Ramandeep Kaur, who was found hanging in Dugri police station. In July 2024, a CBI and forensic team found several discrepancies at the police station, including renovation of the room where she died and missing evidence
