Man Questioned for Mumbai Bombings Dies in Custody

Posted July 17th, 2011 at 9:40 am (UTC-5)
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An Indian man has died after being questioned by authorities in connection with last week's bomb blasts in Mumbai that killed 19 people.

Faiz Usmani died in a Mumbai hospital Sunday after being picked up by police for questioning. A police spokesman says the man was taken to doctors after complaining of hypertension after not taking his medicine for several days. However, his family blamed authorities for his death, alleging Usmani was tortured during interrogation.

A doctor said the cause of death was a brain hemorrhage. The police spokesman says a postmortem report will be prepared and an inquiry into the death is under way.

Meanwhile, investigators have prepared a sketch of a suspect they want to question over the blasts in Mumbai. Officials say the drawing is based on witness accounts from the bomb sites. Police say the sketch will be circulated among officials investigating the blast, but not released to the public.

No one has claimed responsibility for last Wednesday's triple bomb blasts that killed 19 people and wounded 130 others in India's financial capital.

Investigators have questioned suspected members of the Indian Mujahideen, a banned group linked to Pakistan's Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has claimed past terrorist attacks in India.

In 2008, Pakistan-based militants laid siege to Mumbai in a three-day assault which killed 166 people.

Peace talks between the two countries were suspended following that attack and have just recently resumed. The Pakistani government has condemned the violence in Mumbai.