A 26-year-old man arrested in a theft case reportedly died in Bathinda police custody late Tuesday night.

The deceased’s father alleged on Wednesday that his son, a resident of Jai Singh Wala, had left on Sunday and police implicated him in a theft case and he later died due to torture.

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Denying the allegation, Bathinda DSP, rural, Harvinder Singh Sran said that his health deteriorated and he was rushed to the government hospital in Sangat town. Later, he was referred to the Shaheed Bhai Mani Singh Civil Hospital, where he died during treatment.

The DSP said that the accused and two others were arrested on September 13 and produced in court next day, Sran said. He said that a postmortem examination would ascertain the cause of death.