10-yr-old’s suicide: IO suspended for failure to conduct autopsy

SHIMLA : The Himachal Pradesh Police has suspended assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Hemraj for failing to conduct autopsy of the 10-year-old boy who committed suicide in Doha, Shimla district, on Monday.

ASI Hemraj was the investigating officer (IO) in the case and he handed over the victim’s body to his family without sending the body for postmortem.

Besides his suspension, a departmental probe has also been ordered against the cop for procedural lapses.

On Monday, the 10-year-old had killed himself by hanging from the ceiling of a storeroom, following which his family informed the police. It is learnt that the family told the IO that they do not want to conduct a postmortem.

Soumya Sambasivan, superintendent of police (SP) Shimla, said appropriate action will be taken if a procedural lapse is established during the probe.

The family claims that it recovered the suicide note from a notebook. The SP said the investigation is being carried out under section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The police also informed that they have learnt that there was a visible behavioural change in the child.

Meanwhile, following the incident, schools have become more cautious and teachers are now checking notebooks of students besides counselling them.