Tinsukia: Hundreds of villagers from Pengeri and Bordumsa in Assam's Tinsukia district blocked the Bordumsa checkgate along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border on Saturday to protest the death of a man from Assam in the custody of Arunachal police.

The checkgate, 102km east of Tinsukia, lies between Pengeri in Assam and Bordumsa in Changlang district of Arunachal. Parts of Bordumsa also fall in Assam.

The officer-in-charge of Bordumsa police station in Assam, Atul Hazarika, said, "Arunachal's Diyun police arrested Diganto Saikia and Jairampur Purty, residents of No. 2 Kuju Pathar village, for motorcycle theft on November 21 and seized a bike."

Diganto died in police custody on Friday while Jairampur's condition is serious, sources said.

One of the protesters, Jyoti Borpatro Gohain, said, "Arunachal police tortured and killed an innocent Assamese man in their custody. We demand justice for Diganto Saikia. We want his post-mortem to be conducted in Assam, compensation for his family and a government job to his wife. The government should also take care of his children's education."

Diganto is survived by his wife Dipali and two sons, aged five and seven years.

Dipali alleged on Saturday that Arunachal police had taken a bribe of Rs 600 from her not to torture Diganto.

The protesters burnt tyres and demanded that the deputy commissioners of Tinsukia and Changlang come to the spot.

Margherita MLA Bhaskar Saikia reached the checkgate and assured the protesters that he would arrange a meeting with both the deputy commissioners within five days.

He also assured them that the post-mortem of Diganto's body would be conducted in the presence of a magistrate from Assam if it cannot be carried out in the state, following which the protesters lifted the blockade.

All attempts to contact Arunachal police proved futile.