A 30-year-old man is claimed to have passed away while being held by the police in Jachie Pramso, in the Ashanti Region, after he was denied bail.
Police detained Ernest Acheampong on Saturday after learning that he may have stolen a cell phone.
The police allege that the suspect killed himself while still in detention by hanging, but his family has angrily denied the allegations.
According to the family of the deceased, Ernest Acheampong was arrested by two police officers for phone theft while on his way to work on Saturday.
The suspect is said to have resisted arrest, resulting in a cut in the face of one of the officers.
Ernest was later arrested by the police.
Brother of the deceased, Kofi Owusu, says efforts to get the suspect released were unsuccessful.
“Our Uncle had gone to the station on Saturday to seek bail for him but was unsuccessful. They told us it was a weekend so they can’t admit him on bail. We were there on Sunday as well. The police again refused us bail on Monday 6th March since it was a holiday,” he said.
The family was called on Tuesday to the police station to the news of the demise of their relative.
The family says the police claim that their relative committed suicide is untenable.
Kofi Owusu added, “My uncle went to the police cells to meet his lifeless body hanged dead. He had cuts on his chest but we don’t believe it was suicide. They said he used a bed sheet in the cells to commit the suicide.”
Meanwhile, the body of the deceased has been deposited at the morgue.