Congolese man detained in Bengaluru drug case dies

A 27-year-old Congolese national, who was detained by police in a drugs case, died on Monday while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Bengaluru.

Following the incident, several Africans staged a protest in front of the JC Nagar police station. A few of them were injured after the police resorted to lathi-charge.

The deceased has been identified as Joan alias Joel Shindani Malu, a resident of Hennur. He was overstaying in the city after his visa and passport expired.

Joel was caught with narcotics from Babusapalya on Sunday night. He was taken to the station at 2.15 am and shifted to hospital around 5.30 am after complaining of chest pain.

Police said an FIR was registered against him under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. He was kept in the station for questioning and to ascertain his identity.

Around 5.10 am, the station in-charge officer informed sub-inspector Raghupathi that Joel was complaining of chest pain. He was shifted to the nearby Chiraayu Hospital. On preliminary examination, he was diagnosed with bradycardia (slow heart rate) and was administered several rounds of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other life-saving interventions.

Around 6.45 am, the doctors declared him dead due to a suspected cardiac arrest.

The police contacted Bosco, the president of the Pan African Federation, to trace Joel’s identity. They came to know that his student visa had expired in July 2015 and his passport had expired in December 2017.

Kamal Pant, Commissioner of Police, said a case of unnatural death has been registered at JC Nagar police station and the case has been transferred to the Criminal Information Department (CID) for further investigation.

“The investigation is being conducted according to the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) including an inquest by a judicial magistrate,” he said.