As per case facts, Balbir Singh died in police custody after being illegally detained and brutally tortured by police officials, sustaining severe injuries including cervical fractures. When his condition deteriorated, ... police attempts for medical aid failed, and he was then thrown alive into a canal where he drowned. Police later fabricated FIRs and records to conceal the custodial death. The appellants, convicted police officials, appealed their Section 302 IPC conviction, arguing lack of direct evidence, medical support for accidental drowning, unreliable SDM report, and fabricated DDRs by the prosecution. The question arose whether the deceased was thrown into the canal by the appellants or escaped custody and jumped, and if his injuries were consistent with torture or an accidental fall. Finally, the High Court dismissed the appeals, sustaining the conviction. It affirmed that the deceased was subjected to severe custodial torture and then thrown into the canal in a critically injured and helpless state, leading to homicidal death. The Court found police records manipulated and no plausible explanation for the antemortem injuries, confirming custodial violence and murder.