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The family of a student officer who died by suicide has alleged he was subject to bullying while training with West Yorkshire Police. Anugrah Abraham was on placement with the police force as part of a three-year apprenticeship degree at Leeds Trinity University when he went missing on March 3, and his family was informed of his death the following day. They have called on the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to investigate the force, alleging the 21-year-old experienced “bullying and institutional racism”.

Mr Abraham, known as Anu to his loved ones, was laid to rest on March 23.

Family members and friends described the student as a “gentle giant” who was “honest, loving, smart and hard-working”.

They added he was a “generous soul” who was “beautiful inside and out” while serving proudly as a police officer.

But they said he became “increasingly unconfident and anxious” during his time at Halifax police station due to “appalling” treatment.

The family said that, on one occasion, he was left shaken after seeing a dead body floating in a river.

They alleged he vomited after being asked to carry out a full body search and was told to “just do the search”.

They also claimed he was sent “ill-equipped” and alone to deal with incidents of serious harm and other tough jobs, including incidents of domestic abuse.

He was “sent from incident to incident” and not “able to have proper lunch breaks”, the family also alleged, and frequently couldn’t eat.

The morning he went missing, Mr Abraham ate with his parents, and his mother said he was visibly stressed and worried about going back to work.

In a statement, the family said: “We want to make clear that we feel that the harm Anu experienced at the hands of the police killed him.”

As they referred West Yorkshire Police to the IOPC, they claimed the force “failed across the board to nurture and support a young trainee police officer”.

A spokesman said the force has since referred itself to the official police investigative body.

They said: “West Yorkshire Police takes allegations of bullying and discrimination within the workforce very seriously and is committed to investigating such reports.

“The force has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct who deemed it appropriate that a local investigation is undertaken.

“This is currently being conducted by the Professional Standards Directorate.”

A spokesman for the IOPC said the body received the referral and has “directed the force to carry out an investigation”.

They added: “The complainant will have the right to have the force’s handling of the matter reviewed by the IOPC upon conclusion of the investigation, ensuring an appropriate level of independent oversight should it be required.”

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