Bijapur, June 27: In an alleged incident of police brutality, a 19-year-old man died outside an SSLC exam centre in Karnataka's Bijapur district on Saturday after allegedly being thrashed by cops. Sagar Chalavadi went to drop off his sister at the SSLC exam centre when he was allegedly beaten up by policemen who suspected him to be involved in malpractice, reports said. Chalavadi's family, however, said he was not connected to any malpractice. SSLC Exam 2020: Student Writing Class 10 Paper in Karnataka's Hassan Tests COVID-19 Positive.

According to reports, police ran chased Chalavadi after suspecting his involvement in malpractice along with another person. He had a heart attack and collapsed. He was first taken to Hoovina Hipparagi health centre from where he was rushed to the taluk hospital. When he was brought at the Basavana Bagewadi taluk hospital, Chalavadi was declared dead on arrival, News18 reported. Karnataka Conducts SSLC Exams Amid COVID-19.

While police said Chalavadi was helping a person in cheating, Shivappa, an eyewitness who was with Chalavadi during the incident, narrated a different story. "We were crossing the examination centre in Hoovina Hipparagi when a policeman stopped us. He asked where we are heading and he hit our motorcycle. I told him that Sagar is unwell and we are going to a hospital. He again hit the bike; we told him we will head back and turned. Then he thrashed Sagar’s back with a police baton," Shivappa was quoted as saying.

Police, however, maintained that he wasn't assaulted. "We learned that Sagar previously had a history of cardiac issues and he must have died due to shock after being caught. Nobody beat him," a police officer told News18. Superintendent of Police Anupam Agarwal has taken note of the incident.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 27, 2020 05:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).