The third suicide in police custody in the past few months has turned out to be one time too many for Ghaziabad Police. lakhan Singh, arrested amid much fanfare for throwing acid on a woman on Friday, allegedly hanged himself in jail.
City SP Shiv Shankar Yadav said lakhan used his shirt to hang himself from a seven-foot door. However, the doctor who examined the body initially exposed the police bluff as he did not find any ligature mark on the neck. The cylinder delivery boy, who could not accept a refusal to his marriage proposal, was lodged in Vijay Vihar Police Station.
Senior police officers were quick to come out with their pre-rehearsed alibi. However, despite their blaming the accused for ending his life, the police cannot absolve itself from its responsibility as there should have been a guard to monitor his movements.
Annoyed by recurring laxity, Senior Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Singh Yadav suspended five personnel — Inspector in-charge Virendra Yadav, the day officer and three other constables — with immediate effect.
Dr Sumit Panwar of Sanjeevni Hospital claimed there was no mark of hanging. He said: “Police personnel who brought him to the hospital told me he had consumed some poisonous substance. I just declared him dead after primary examination.” On the other hand, lakhan’s family said he was killed by the police.
Ironically, the euphoria over the arrest had barely died down after the City SP’s Press conference, when he was told about the death. Yadav left the briefing in a hurry for the hospital.
lakhan’s suicide is not an isolated incident. The then SSP had suspended five policemen, including the Inspector in-charge of Indirapuram Police Station, after a murder accused was found dead in lock-up. An alleged auto thief too was found dead at Kavi Nagar Police Station, which led to suspension of eight personnel for gross dereliction of duty. But no lessons seem to have been learnt.
lakhan had been in the news after he threw acid on a married woman, Nisha Sheikh (30), leading to critical burn injuries on her body and face. lakhan was known to her husband Imtiaz Sheikh but had still told the woman he wanted to marry her.