Rajbiraj, April 13

A 62-year-old woman died when she collapsed while trying to save her son from police, who were thrashing him in Saptari today.

The deceased woman has been identified as Jayanab Khatun, 62, of Birpurtole of Khadak Municipality, Saptari. According to locals, police had baton-charged around 15 youths, including the woman’s son Nasim Ansari, 30, at Chakwa Chowk of Birpurtole for defying the nationwide lockdown.

Khatun had run out of her home and tried to defend her son from police thrashing, but she collapsed on the spot. She was rushed to a health post in Kalyanpur for treatment. Then, she was taken to Gajendra Narayan Singh Hospital after she could not be treated at the health post. Doctors pronounced her dead at the hospital.

SP Krishna Prasain claimed that Khatun was a chronic heart patient and died of heart attack.

“Police have not even touched the woman,” said SP Khatun.

Meanwhile, Khatun’s family members and relatives claimed that police had baton-charged her and she died as a result of the beating. They claimed that 60-year-old Chunni Bantrani’s head was fractured after police thrashed her.

Family members and relatives demanded action against police personnel involved in the thrashing and compensation to the deceased’s family.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on April 14, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.