New Delhi: The death of a 64-year-old Muslim man in Ahmedabad on May 20, after he was taken into police custody in connection with a cow slaughter case, has sparked allegations of custodial torture and renewed concerns over the policing of Gujarat’s stringent cow protection laws.Zaheer Shaikh, a resident of Ahmedabad’s Juhapura area, died after being detained by police personnel from Ahmedabad’s Vejalpur police station. Family members have alleged that Shaikh was brutally tortured while in custody and later succumbed to his injuries. The allegations have triggered protests in the area, with residents demanding action against the officials allegedly involved.Police had booked Shaikh under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Gujarat Animal Preservation Act after claiming to have recovered more than 500 kilograms of suspected beef, a live calf, vehicles and equipment from an open field in Juhapura earlier this month. According to the police, Shaikh had fled during the initial raid and was formally arrested on May 18.Following his death, Shaikh’s family accused the police of custodial torture. Shaikh’s son, Tofik, who saw and recorded his father’s condition in the hospital, has alleged that his father was treated in an inhuman manner by the police despite his old age. “They kept beating him and pulling his beard, and they even hit him in his private parts,” Tofik told The Wire.Tofik recorded a video in which Shaikh claimed that policemen beat him and demanded money while he was in custody. Family members and their lawyer also alleged that he was forced to consume a suspicious drink during interrogation. After his death, protests broke out outside the hospital, with demonstrators demanding an independent probe and action against the officers involved.Officials said Shaikh’s health deteriorated after he consumed medication brought by his wife at the police station.The family have said that they have pushed for Shaikh’s postmortem to be videographed in the presence of a magistrate and that a judicial magistrate-led inquiry into the accidental death must be conducted.People protest outside the Vejalpur police station. Photo: Special arrangementVideos recorded by Tofik and testimonies of his family and relatives claim that Shaikh bore visible injury marks on his body. Residents have been gathered outside the police station seeking accountability and an impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.Tofik also points to the fact that recently, he uploaded a video of the same police officers publicly torturing Muslims from Juhapura. He says this may have triggered the police to create what he calls a ‘fake case’ against his father and younger brother.“They had tortured my father so much that they had to take him to the hospital, then the hospital asked them give him certain medicines for his injuries. Later, they had to again take him to the hospital, where police said that he deliberately took medicines to harm himself, but even while dying my father said that he was brutally tortured,” Tofik told The Wire.Jignesh Mevani, working president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee and MLA from Gujarat’s Vadgam, spoke to the media to say that the family has alleged custodial torture and this matter must be investigated thoroughly. “The accused has alleged that he was beaten on his private parts. While this matter was still subject to investigation they did this. Two years ago too, policemen from the same police station were accused of custodial torture. Even 10-15 days ago too, Vejalpur policemen have been filmed beating a Muslim man who they tied to a police vehicle. Police must act within the confines of law and constitution. If someone has committed a crime, arrest them, take necessary action but this is uncalled for”Congress MLA Imran Khedawala too condemned the alleged violence. “The DGP has assured us of necessary action and investigation but cases of custodial torture are a reality in Gujarat. CP [commissioner of police] has also assured us that the post mortem will be conducted and supervised by a panel of doctors and whoever is responsible for this will be held accountable.”A relative of Shaikh’s, Maulana Mohammad, said that the police suspicion of the meat being cow meat had not been confirmed, and yet they tortured Shaikh so much that he died undergoing treatment. “My uncle was nowhere associated with any cow slaughter matter, his own pick-up vehicle was parked outside his house, we have CCTV footage to support that. The police just wanted to involve our family into some matter,” he told The Wire.The Wire also reached out to the police for a response. This article will be updated when a response is received.Ever since the incident occurred, residents of Juhapura have been protesting for justice and action against the police personnel allegedly involved. The family have also refused to accept Shaikh’s corpse, saying that his murder must be investigated.The family has not received any of Shaikh’s medical records from the hospital yet, as it was the police who had taken him there.Cow slaughter-related local vigilantism and police action have been increasing in the state ever since 2017, when Gujarat’s state assembly passed a law making the slaughter of cows punishable with life imprisonment. Since then, after the 2017 amendment to the state’s Animal Preservation Act, those found guilty of transporting beef are to be jailed for 10 years.Tarushi Aswani is an independent journalist.