‘Police panicked and hid as my sister remained hanging’
TILAK VIHAR ‘SUICIDE’ Girl’s family says cops ‘locked’ her in room; police say girl locked the room from inside
NEWDELHI: Instead of trying to save the 17-year-old girl who hanged herself inside the Tilak Vihar police post in the early hours of Sunday, the police personnel present there allegedly “panicked and hid” in different rooms, the victim’s family has claimed.
The girl reportedly hanged herself inside the police post around 3.15 am on Sunday, following a scuffle between her family and the relatives of a man she had allegedly “befriended” a few months ago. The two families, who are neighbours, were present at the police post when the alleged suicide took place.
The girl who, until then, was missing since Saturday night appeared at the police post around 2.30am on Sunday, the police said.
The girl’s brother alleged that instead of letting her stay with her family, the police had “locked her up” in a room. “I was confined in an adjacent room along with my two cousins,” the girl’s brother alleged.
The girl’s brother claimed he could see his sister through an opening in the wall where an air cooler was installed. “I could see my sister using her chunni to make a noose,” he said.
He claimed that the room his sister was in had been locked from the outside. “But by the time I could rush and break open the door, she had hanged herself,” he said.
“When the police officers at the post learnt of her suicide, they panicked and hid inside separate rooms. They neither helped us break open the door, nor brought down her body. She remained hanging in that room for over two hours,” the brother alleged. He claimed that he had to make a call to the police control room to report the death which took place inside a police post.
Deputy commissioner of police (west) Vijay Kumar, however, dismissed the allegations and claimed that the girl had never been locked from the outside. “She locked the door from inside. Police officers broke the door open in an attempt to save her. Her body was brought down by police officers,” the DCP said.
To substantiate their allegations, the girl’s family claimed they have videos which purportedly showed the girl still hanging as her relatives panicked.
DCP Kumar said the girl told the police she did not want to return home as she feared her family members would thrash her over her alleged friendship with the man.
The girl’s brother acknowledged that her alleged friendship with the man led to tensions at home, but said it was a “family matter” that could have been solved amicably.
“Last month, some locals told me that the man had been boasting that he would soon become my brother-in-law. I had got into a scuffle with him, but we later settled the matter amicably,” said the brother.
Other residents of the neighbourhood claimed that when Saturday night’s scuffle broke out between the two families, the man’s father allegedly locked up his three daughters at home for over seven hours.
“In the morning, we realised that the girls could be under threat from the residents who were turning aggressive. We rescued them and moved them to safety,” said a police officer.
When the police officers at the post learnt of her suicide, they panicked and hid inside separate rooms. They neither helped us break open the door, nor brought down her body.