Cop guarding prisoner at hospital found dead with bullet injury in head

NEW DELHI: A 49-year-old Delhi Police head constable was found dead on Tuesday at Rajan Babu Institute of Pulmonary Medicine and Tuberculosis (RBIPMT) in north Delhi’s GTB Nagar where he was guarding a prisoner, who was undergoing treatment. Police said the officer was found with a gunshot wound to his head.

Officials said the incident took place at around 3.30pm on Tuesday in a hospital ward which had been bolted from the inside. The head constable, identified only by his first name Rajender, was in the ward with prisoner Manoj, who had been undergoing treatment for tuberculosis at the hospital since February 8. Manoj had been arrested in 2013 in a murder case and had been serving time at Tihar Jail since, police said.

Though a probe has been initiated to ascertain the exact sequence of events that led to Rajender’s death, police officials suspect that it is likely a case of suicide. However, no suicide note was found. It was unclear if Rajender allegedly killed himself with his service pistol or the prisoner shot him dead.

Aslam Khan, deputy commissioner of police (northwest), said Rajender was deployed at the RBIPMT with assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Sita Ram to guard the prisoner.

ASI Sita Ram told police that around 3pm Rajender appears to have bolted the ward’s door from the inside as he stepped away to get tea. The prisoner told police that he was reportedly sleeping when the ASI left. “Manoj has claimed that he woke up after hearing a gunshot and found Rajender on the floor. He raised an alarm. The ASI rushed to the ward and managed to open the door,” a police officer said.

DCP Khan said Rajender was rushed to Sushruta Trauma Cen- tre where he succumbed to the bullet injury. “We will speak with Rajender’s family to find out if he was under stress,” she said.

Rajender survived by his wife and two children, including a daughter whose wedding was scheduled for February 25. There were unconfirmed reports that Rajender was depressed as he was not able to arrange dowry for his daughter.

The incident took place a day after four assailants threw chili powder in the eyes of three policemen and set free their associate while he was being escorted at Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences. NEWDELHI: The Delhi government on Tuesday decided to allow distribution of food ration to beneficiaries without producing Aadhaar card.

The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting, which was organised at chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence in Civil Lines instead of the secretariat, which saw a shutdown due to a protest over the alleged assault on the chief secretary.

Chief secretary Anshu Prakash did not attend the Cabinet meeting and finance secretary SN Sahai coordinated the proceedings.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said there were many complaints regarding citizens not getting ration because of Aadhaar card-related issues.

“The decision to distribute food to ration card holders based on Aadhaar card has been stopped for some time. The old method of ration distribution will continue,” Sisodia told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

Sisodia alleged that officials didn’t follow the process for ration delivery approved in an earlier Cabinet note. “We are analysing the deviations from the method .Till then, the earlier distribution method of delivery will be continued,” he said.

The Delhi government had in January this year started delivery of ration through point of sale devices (POS) at ration shops across the city, which requires beneficiaries to have an Aadhaar card.

Sisodia also said the doorstep delivery of ration would begin soon.