A 21-year-old bike-borne Disc Jockey (DJ) died after his neck was slit by getting entangled in an iron wire tied between two police barricades in Northwest Delhi’s Netaji Subhash Place on Thursday around 12.30 am. He was heading home on his scooty.
Taking cognisance of the gross dereliction of duty, the North-West DCP shunted Station House Officer of Netaji Subhash Place police station to police lines, while seven other police personnel were placed under suspension. They will face a departmental enquiry.
Abhishek Kashyap, the victim, was also preparing for exams to join the Delhi Police.
“last year, Abhishek had managed to clear the written test but during the physical fitness test, he lost in the running round by one minute,” said an inconsolable Priyanka, Abhishek’s sister.
Talking about the tragic death, a senior police officer said, “The incident happened around 12.30 am on the F-Block Road after the victim had crossed the Brittania Chowk. Due to darkness, Abhishek might have not seen the iron wire binding the two police barricades and ended up slitting his throat. He lost balance as his neck got entwined with the iron wire. His head hit hard against a rock and he sustained critical head injuries. It were locals who witnessed the accident and informed the police,” the officer said.
Eyewitnesses told The Pioneer, “He was bleeding profusely but there was no police present near the barricades.” Abhishek’s cousin Rohit told The Pioneer, “The family received a call from the Mahavir hospital at 1 am. A friend called to inform us that Abhishek had met with an accident. We got to know that on Shakarpur road, where Abhishek died, a PCR van was standing nearby. But they did not extend help to him. It was only a passerby who quickly called an ambulance and rushed Abhishek to Mahavir hospital.”
locals and family claimed that barely a few minutes before Abhishek died, another biker had crossed the barricade.
When the family members were informed, they protested against the police’s callousness, following which an FIR for causing death due to negligence was registered.
Abhishek’s family members said it is sheer laxity of the police due to which they lost their son.
Sitting outside their house in the Shakarpur Basti, Abhishek’s mother Sumita wept. “Aaj mera beta gaya hai, kal kisi ameer ka beta jayega (today my son died, next time someone rich will die). Police should be punished. I lost my son,” she said.
Sumita said, “Even if these policemen are hanged, it will not bring my son back. How can someone be so negligent that it caused biggest loss to a familyIJ”
The eldest among his three siblings, Abhishek was working double shifts to support his family. In the day, Abhishek drove a radio taxi while at night; he played DJ at local weddings. At the same time, in his spare time, he studied for the Delhi Police exams.
Aslam Kham, DCP (Northwest) said the matter is being probed from all the possible angles. “CCTV footage is being trawled to ascertain the sequence of incident. Primary probe unveiled negligence following which SHO NSP Arvind Kumar has been sent to district line while Sub Inspector Sandeep Dabas, Assistant Sub Inspector Ravinder, Head Constable Jitender and Constables Balkari, Ravinder, Maukesh and Gaurav have been suspended,” the officer said.
local residents said there was no policeman at the spot at the time of incident. “If police had erected barricades, why was there no policeman deployedIJ There was not even a PCR van in the vicinity which could have rushed Abhishek to hospital so that his life could be saved. He had sustained severe head injuries also, probably because of which he could not get up on himself and seek help,” said Rohit, Abhishek’s cousin.