India, Sept. 17 -- The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday rejected the anticipatory bail pleas of two Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel accused in the custodial death of a man in Gonda and said that although the COVID-19 pandemic had ended, "the plague of custodial deaths" did not appear to have abated.

Justice Manish Mathur of the Lucknow bench of the high court made the observation while dismissing separate criminal appeals filed by RPF sub-inspector Karan Singh Yadav and constable Amit Kumar Yadav.

The two had challenged the August 4 order of the Special Judge (SC/ST Act), Gonda, rejecting their anticipatory bail applications.

The case relates to the alleged custodial death of Sanjay Kumar Sonkar, a resident of Kinki village i...