The Central Crime Branch said that Madu died after he fell from the bike
when they were chasing him and his friend for peddling drugs.
The African community, contesting the police version, said that some of
its members saw Madu with plainclothes police officers near a
supermarket in the area around 10pm.
In a letter to the Nigerian high commission in New Delhi, they have
sought its intervention so that the case is handed over to an
independent agency like the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)
"We have a lot of suspicion in this case that convinces us that the Nigerian national was murdered and the police are making it appear as if it was an accident," Nigerian Community President, Igwe Elvis Ohachosim wrote in a letter to the Nigerian Embassy in New Delhi.
"According to our information, the deceased was seen in the evening of March 12, 2017 with policemen pulling him here and there. Thereafter they didnt know where they took him." the letter reads.
K N Yashavanth Kumar, inspector, women and narcotic cell of the Central
Crime Branch (CCB) said in his complaint that his team was on Kothanur
Avalahalli Road expecting to make an arrest after an exchange of drugs
for money when the accident occurred. A senior officer said the team had
left the office around 7.30pm and was waiting at the spot.
An official statement quoting Kumar's complaint said:
"The team was waiting by the road. Around 12.10am (Monday), two persons riding a scooter passed and returned, making a U-turn; suddenly the rider tried speeding with the intention of running away."
Police said the rider lost control, and the pillion rider was tossed
from the bike. The rider left him behind and escaped. Yashvanth's
complaint said his team took the victim to Bowring and Lady Curzon
hospital in Shivajinagar, and the doctor declared him as "dead on
arrival."
A 24-year-old Nigerian who was with Madu when the police picked up the
later said his his friend "was alive when he was caught by those men."
"Around 10pm on Sunday,
a group of men in civil clothes who were wielding canes followed them
on bikes. Madu stopped the bike near Green Supermarket to allow them to
go. I stopped the bike thinking that the men on bikes coming behind
would pass by us. But they stopped their bikes and surrounded us. A few
of them claimed that they were police and caught Madu. I managed to
escape. I fell down while running.
The youth, who injured his right knee, said the bike belonged to him. Both had just come from Mysuru on Sunday
morning. According to him, Madu lived in Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu from
where he would bring clothes and footwear and sell them to his community
members in the city.
Later, representatives of 11 African nations were called to the hospital
in a bid to identify the deceased. They were shocked to see blood still
oozing out from Madu's head in the back. There were no other noticeable
injuries on the body.
"It is clearly does not look like an accident," said Elvis, pointing out
that there were no scratches on his body other than the fresh wound
behind his back.
Based on information provided by the Nigerian community, police have
contacted the Foreigner Regional Registration Office and are awaiting
confirmation of the man's identity. Police said they do not have any
conclusive evidence at present to link Madu with any kind of criminal
activity, including drug dealing.
The community's legal adviser Bosco Kaweesi said:
"The nature of the injuries do not point to an accident. We want an impartial investigation into the matter. This murder comes close on the heels of the murder of a Ugandan woman in February, who the police conveniently called a prostitute and her death has not been investigated properly."
Police maintain that the death was caused by an accident and that they
never had Madu in custody. Police have seized the vehicle involved in
the accident but had not traced its owner or the rider. They have found a
mobile phone, which they think belonged to Madu. Police commissioner
Praveen Sood said:
"We are checking those details. We don't know if it is a stolen vehicle. We cannot say anything now."
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