NHRC serves notice on Delhi Police over custodial death

The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motto cognisance of media reports of a vendor’s death in police custody and his body being dumped in Adarsh Nagar. 

It has issued a notice to the Delhi Police calling for a detailed report in the matter within six weeks. Police has been asked to submit all relevant documents including his postmortem report, inquest report, video CD of the postmortem and the magisterial enquiry report in the matter.

A 24-year-old fruit seller died after he allegedly fell from the terrace of the Adarsh Nagar police station in an apparent case of custodial death last week.

The SHO and five other policemen later allegedly tried to hush up the crime by dumping the man’s body at Shah Alam Bandh Road and destroying evidence, which included cleaning the blood from the crime scene. 

They also allegedly manipulated other records at the police station related to the fruit seller’s detention under preventive measures, sources said.

Even as the police personnel in question tried their best to cover up the case, it was a whistleblower from the police station that alerted the Assistant Commissioner of police of Model Town. 

The ACP communicated the matter to DCP and other senior officers in the Delhi Police headquarters were informed. Six policemen, including the Station House Officer of the police station, an Assistant Sub Inspector and four constables have been booked for committing culpable homicide not amounting to murder and suspended till the probe is completed.

The Commission has observed that the allegation of death in police custody is a matter of concern for it. It has been emphasising that the police authorities and State machinery need to be sensitive towards the rights of persons taken into custody in connection with any criminal case.