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Court raps cops for portraying murder as suicide

A city court has rapped the Delhi Police for its investigation into the mysterious death of a young man last…

Court raps cops for portraying murder as suicide

Representational Image (Photo: Getty Images)

A city court has rapped the Delhi Police for its investigation into the mysterious death of a young man last year, observing that it had “deliberately attempted” to show it as a case of suicide.

The 23-year-old man was a manager at a high-end hotel in the city. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sumedh Kumar Sethi observed that the case needed to be thoroughly investigated to “uncover” the “blatant attempt” of the police, ordering registration of an FIR in this connection.

The court’s directions came on the plea of the mother of Arnav Duggal, seeking the registration of an FIR in connection with her son’s death.

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The court also ordered a probe into the alleged lapses by the police officials concerned with the direction that strict action be taken in case it was established that there was a deliberate attempt to scuttle the investigation.

The court said, “The case requires thorough police investigation not only to determine the true facts behind the tragic death of deceased but now also to uncover this blatant attempt to portray the death as a suicide from the very beginning.”

It was alleged in the mother’s plea that her son was strangled to death by his female friend at her Dwarka residence on June 13 last year, but there was no action on her complaint to the police.

The court rejected the investigating officer’s report submitted before it that the probe provided the hint that it was a case of suicide.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate said, “The court cannot help but notice that from the day of the incident itself the police seems to have presumed that this is a case of suicide. Despite the deceased being found dead in such mysterious circumstances and serious allegations being levelled by the parents of the deceased, the police had refused to register an FIR.

It seems that a deliberate attempt is being made right from the beginning to take the probe in this matter in the direction of a suicide. This is apparent from the fact that although no police official saw the deceased hanging from the fan, the police seems to have blindly accepted the version of the woman (Arnav’s friend).”

It further said even the polygraph test of the accused woman appeared to have been done in a “rudimentary manner, seemingly a formality” by the police.

“In view of the facts and circumstances, the court hereby directs that an FIR be registered under appropriate provisions of law and the circumstances surrounding the death of Arnav Duggal be investigated in view of the allegations,” the court ruled.

The court also transferred the probe from Inspector Sunil Jain, the investigating officer, saying it be given “to some other responsible and senior officer”.

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