Boy dies in Police Custody; family probes death

 

The late Emmanuel Tsawodzi

The father and family members of a young man who allegedly died in a police custody are calling for a probe into the death of their son who they claim was unlawfully detained in the Ave Dakpa police cells of the Akatsi North District.

The deceased Emmanuel Tsawodzi was said to have been brought to the police station with his arms and legs tied by two men who accused him of breaking a louvre blade in the residence of Dr Stevens Torkpor, an aspirant in the recently held NDC parliamentary primaries in the Akatsi North Constituency.  Eyewitness account indicated that the young man believed to be in his early 30’s was tortured severely with his arms and legs swollen before brought to the police station.

The father Mr Agbezuge Tsawodzi said he was home when an informant told him that Dr Stevens Torkpor ordered for the arrest of his son for breaking a louvre blade in his residence. However when he contacted Dr Steven Tokpor, he confirmed the breakage of a louvre blade in his residence but said he was not sure if his son was the one responsible.

Mr Agbezuge narrated that he was later invited by the police, the next day to convey his son who was lying lifeless on the floor to the hospital; an instruction he declined to oblige since he suspected all was not well with his son. He later realized his son died long before he was invited to take him to the hospital.

Among the host of events that remained unclear to Mr Agbezuge was that, his son was seen in a strange dress different from what he wore on the day of the incidence.

The parents are therefore suspecting a foul play on the part of both the police at Ave Dakpa and Dr Steven Tokpor. They are however calling for a probe into the events that led to the death of their “innocent” son.

Meanwhile the Volta Regional Commander of police Mr Peterkin Yentumi Gynae confirmed the incident and said the two persons that brought the deceased Emmanuel Tsawodzi to the police station have been apprehended for further investigations.