LUCKNOW, Oct. 23 -- A key accused in the multi-crore pension scam in Chitrakoot, Sandeep Kumar Srivastava, who was an employee of Chitrakoot treasury, reportedly died due to heart attack after his health deteriorated on Sunday night after being taken into police custody for interrogation in the matter, confirmed senior police officials on Tuesday. He was accused of irregularity in issuing pensions worth Rs 42.04 crore from the treasury between August 30, 2018 and October 6, 2025 and was taken into custody by the local police on Saturday (October 18). The family of the deceased has alleged that he died due to police brutality during interrogation. Sandeep's brother, Sachin Srivastava, said that he was taken into custody on October 18 along with other accused, including Awadhesh Pratap Singh, Vikash Singh Sachan, and Ashok Verma. He claimed that Sandeep's death was a result of police torture and demanded action against the responsible officers.Chitrakoot superintendent of police (SP) Arun Kumar Singh has however, refuted all allegations and claimed that the accused Sandeep was brought to the Karwi Kotwali police station on Saturday afternoon and he was handed over in his family's custody after he complained of anxiety and vomiting soon after the police started interrogating him about the scam. Another Chitakoot police official said that Sandeep's brother took him to the district hospital where doctors suggested consultation from a higher centre following which he was taken to a Prayagraj hospital. He later died during treatment in Prayagraj when his health deteriorated again on Sunday, he added. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has demanded a thorough investigation into the incident. The family has also raised concerns about the handling of the case, alleging that despite 20 people being detained, none had been formally arrested. Over Rs 42,04,22, 093 was wrongly transferred into the bank accounts of 93 pensioners and family pensioners accounts between August 3, 2018 and October 6, 2025 causing a major loss to the state exchequer. The senior treasury officer of Chitrakoot treasury, Ramesh Singh on October 17 lodged an FIR against four Chitrakoot treasury officials for alleged irregularities. Chitrakoot SP Arun Kumar Singh informed that those accused in the FIR are the deceased, Sandeep Kumar Srivastava, who was assistant treasury accountant, Ashok Kumar, who is treasury accountant, Vikas Singh Sachan, who is assistant treasurer, and retired assistant treasurer Awadesh Pratap Singh as well as 93 others pensions and family pensioners. According to the FIR, an audit team from the Office of the Accountant General (Audit and Entitlement) Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad conducted an inspection of pension payment records and revealed that the treasury officials had made unauthorized payments to the pensioners and family pensioners.An internal investigation committee found that the accused officials had manipulated pension records and made unauthorized payments to the tune of several crores. The FIR has been lodged under relevant sections, and the case investigation is on. The SP said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is probing each and every detail minutely and so far over a dozen people have been questioned in the matter. "No arrest is being made as we wanted to collect concrete evidence before arresting any accused," he explained....