Chandigarh: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and its Punjab counterpart will probe the death of a Dalit man, who was allegedly thrashed and forced to drink urine in a Punjab village.
As the two commissions stepped in on Tuesday, Punjab's health minister too ordered an inquiry to determine if there was any negligence when when Jagmel Singh was first brought to a government hospital.
Jagmel Singh, 37, succumbed to injuries on Saturday at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh. His legs had to be amputated there because of an infection, doctors said.
He was cremated on Tuesday at Changaliwala village, where a large number of people including local political leaders assembled to pay their respects.
An official statement said the state's scheduled castes commission has formed a two-member team to look into the death. The team will conduct the investigation jointly with the national scheduled castes body, the statement said, quoting Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes chairperson Tejinder Kaur.
The panel also sought a comprehensive report from Sangrur's senior superintendent of police.