Youth accused of molesting girl commits suicide
NEW DELHI: A 19-year-old youth hanged himself and his friend attempted suicide after the duo and another friend were arrested and subsequently released on bail allegedly on charges of constantly harassing two girls in a DTC bus.
One of the molestation victims had lodged an FIR under Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of IPC against the accused at the Mehrauli police station on December 24.
The family of the deceased, Chandrakant Singh, has alleged that the police had threatened and humiliated him to such an extent that he went into acute depression and took the extreme step. They have also alleged that an officer of the local police station had taken R10,000 from them for not booking Singh for molestation.
The incident was reported from New Manglapuri area in south Delhi's Fatehpur Beri where the duo live with their families. While Singh committed suicide on December 25, his 19-year-old friend Sonu Vaidya consumed poison at his house a day on December 26.
A suicide note recovered from Singh's possession said that he took the extreme step of his own volition and nobody should be blamed for it. The third accused was identified as Mohit, a resident of Fatehpur Beri area.
The three youth were students of the Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Nizamuddin, while the girls study in another ITI located near Siri Fort. The girls are resident of Mehrauli. Both the girls as well as the accused boys used to board the same DTC bus on route number 413 to get to their respective ITIs.
Singh was found dead in his room by his younger sister around 2pm on December 25, said a senior police officer. He said Singh's family rushed him to Safdarjung hospital where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.
"On December 24, we received a PCR call that some people were beating up a youth after he was caught harassing a girl in a moving DTC bus. A police team reached the spot and learnt that the youth was beaten up by the girl's brothers and his friends. They were brought to the police station where the girl formally lodged an FIR," said the officer. He said the youth was arrested and released subsequently. He committed suicide the next day.