Youth commits suicide inside police lock-up, 4 cops suspended

New Delhi: A 19-year-old youth arrested in connection with a molestation case allegedly committed suicide in custody at Karawal Nagar Police Station, police said on Tuesday.

Following the incident, four police personnel, including three Assistant Sub Inspectors, one Sub Inspector have been suspended and an Inspector-ranked officer has been sent to district line, a highly police sources said. The deceased was identified as Deepak alias Pope, a resident of Karawal Nagar.

A police officer investigating the case said that Deepak was arrested last year in an alleged molestation case and overall he had four cases against him including thefts. In 2017, Deepak had allegedly molested a 17-year-old girl from the same locality and even threatened her and family over the incident. Report said he attacked the girl with an iron, which she sustained serious injuries. He had been absconding since the incident

On Monday evening, the local police arrested him in connection with the case and was in custody of the Karawal Nagar police station. Around 10 am on Tuesday, he was found hanging and taken to the GTB hospital where he was declared brought dead, the police said. The DCP and ACP of the area had also reached and looked into the matter.

Meanwhile, city police department suspended four officers including three assistant sub-inspectors and a sub-inspector for alleged negligence and an inspector-rank officer has been sent to district line.

Police said that a metropolitan magistrate is conducting an inquiry into the matter. A senior officer claimed that Deepak was not tortured in custody. The policemen were suspended simply because a man committed suicide in their custody, said the officer. Further action in the matter will be initiated after the judicial inquiry.

A senior police officer said that Karawal Nagar police station is functioning from a rented premises and it does not have a functional lock-up. As a protocol, they should have sent Deepak to Khajuri Khas police station that has a lock-up but the police personnel failed to do so, he added. Meanwhile, the family claimed that Deepak was murdered by the cops who were allegedly mounting pressure on them to pay some money for his release–a claim denied by the police.