In an apparent case of police negligence, a 22-year-old art student died in a freak accident after his head got stuck in a barbed wire that was used to tie two barricades placed on a road in early hours of Thursday. The deceased was identified as Abhishek Kumar.

Following the incident, Arvind Kumar station house officer of Shubhash Place police station was sent to district lines and seven other policemen ~ Sandeep Dabbas (SI), Ravinder (ASI), Jitender (HC), and four constables Balkari, Ravinder, Mukesh and Gaurav ~ were suspended.

The incident took place around 1.30 a.m. at Block F in Shakurpur area when Abhishek was on way to attend a ceremony on a motorcycle where he was hired to play music. “Around 1.20 when Abhishek was moving on the road he ran into the barbed wire between the barricades and subsequently collided with the road divider. In the process his head was severed ,” said an eyewitness.

He stated that at the time of accident there were no policemen present on the spot. They tied the barbed wire on barricades and left. Vikas, 26 Abhishek’s uncle claimed, “similar incidents happened before but fortunately the victims had survived. The local police is following the practise of tying barricades with barbed wires for a long time. Often they are not present at the spot. For commuters the barricade becomes a trap.”

The father of the deceased, Sanjeev Kumar told The Statesman: “When I did not hear from Abhishek, I went to look for him. I was on my way when someone informed me that a major accident had taken place near F Block. I rushed to the spot and found my son’s body was lying on road. His face was barely attached to his body.”

According to Sanjeev there were no policemen around. “When I saw how the barricades were tied I was left completely shocked,” he added. Abhishek was taken to hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. Accordingly, a case under Section 304A was registered at Shubhash Place police station and investigation was taken up.

Meanwhile, deputy commissioner of police Aslam Khan said that “strict action will be taken against policemen and officers involved in the case. The SHO has been sent to district lines and some other policemen have been suspended.”