40-year-old man arrested for raping minor found dead in lock-up as family members allege torture

new delhi: A 40-year-old man arrested for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl in Delhi was on Sunday found hanging in the Samaypur Badli police station lock-up, following which, constable Yashveer, posted at the station, has been placed under suspension for "negligence". However, the deceased, Dharmendra's family members have alleged that he was tortured in police custody — a charge the police have vehemently denied. Significantly, Dharmendra was serving his sentence in a murder-cum-robbery case when he was released on parole in March, following which the pandemic resulted in his parole being extended. Police claimed that he had also been convicted for sodomising a 10-year-old boy in the Alipur area here.

The deceased man's lawyer Rakesh Kaushik said, "The man was brought to Swaroop Nagar police station by police personnel for questioning but around 11.30 pm, his relatives got a call asking them to visit Dharmendra at the police station. The family has alleged that the victim was tortured and beaten up inside the lock-up and was also made to consume alcohol."

But on Sunday morning, his family was informed that he died by suicide inside the lock-up at Samaypur Badli police station, the lawyer said.

However, DCP (Outer North) Gaurav Sharma said that Dharmendra was brought to the Samaypur Badli police station as the Swaroop Nagar police station does not have a lock-up. But Neeraj, one of Dharmendra's nephews, has said that the family visited him at Swaroop Nagar police station. He said, "When we reached there, we saw he was beaten up and even forced to consume liquor. But today morning, we were informed that he committed suicide in Samaypur Baldi police station."

On Sunday, the accused hanged himself with a bedsheet tied around the bars of the lock-up gate. He was immediately rushed to Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital but was declared brought dead by the doctors, DCP Sharma said, adding that the Metropolitan Magistrate had been informed about the incident and proceedings are being carried out as per law. CCTV footage has also been preserved to facilitate the inquiry, the senior officer said.

He said that police had first received a complaint against Dharmendra about the rape on Saturday, after which he was arrested from a relative's home in Samaypur Badli. The police added that the girl was alone at home as her mother, a labourer, was out for work. Her father had passed away earlier. The FIR said that Dharmendra had forcefully entered the girl's home and raped her.