Family of man who died in Japan cries foul, demands probe

The family of a man, who was found dead in a Japanese immigration detention centre on April 13, has suspected a foul play and demanded a probe.

The deceased's brother Sanjeev Kumar told ANI that his brother Deepak Kumar had gone to Japan for employment a year back and used to get a monthly visa, but Japanese immigration officials detained him on July 13.

"My brother was in the Japanese immigration detention centre since nine months. He used to call me after every 15-20 days. He called me up on April 12 and said he was fine and inquired about mother, father, and other family members. On April 13 at around 4:30 p.m, I got a call from a person named Sunny, who introduced himself as Deepak's friend and informed me that my brother died in the morning. Sunny said that Deepak was found lying in the bathroom. We are unable to understand how Deepak could die when a day before he was fine," Sanjeev told ANI.

He requested the Indian government to bring back his brother's body to India as soon as possible and demanded a probe to ascertain the actual reasons behind Deepak's death.

"We contacted External Affairs Ministry, which gave us the number of the Indian Embassy in Japan. The Indian Embassy confirmed my brother's death and said he died of asphyxiation, but we are not satisfied," Sanjeev said.

He said that from Sunday onwards 130 inmates of the Japanese Immigration detention centre have launched a hunger strike over Deepak's death.

"The inmates are not ready to believe that how could all of a sudden Deepak die who had happily went to take a bath 10 minutes ago," Sanjeev said.

Deepak's death took the toll in Japan's immigration detention system to 14 since 2006.

The strike in Japanese immigration detention centre after Deepak's death has been prominently reported by the international media.