Head constable shoots himself at Supreme Court

A 44-YEAR-OLD Delhi Police head constable committed suicide by shooting himself with his service pistol at the Supreme Court premises on Monday morning. Police said Chand Pal was with the security wing of the Delhi Police and had been deployed at the apex court since April 2014.

A police officer posted with the Supreme Court security said the incident took place at 8.30 am inside a sentry post, about 100 yards from Gate G which is primarily used for entry and exit of court employees.

The officer said there were a few people around the gate and court proceedings were about to start. “Construction work was going on when we heard a loud noise, but couldn’t make out what it was. When officers gathered to check, they found Pal missing. After searching for a few minutes, he was found lying in a pool of blood. He had shot himself in the chest with his service pistol,” the officer said.

Some policemen posted at the court said Pal kept to himself and didn’t socialise much. He was on the morning shift and worked from 7 am to 1 pm. A policeman privy to the investigation said they are looking at CCTV footage from the area.

A senior police officer said a suicide note was found inside Pal’s pocket. It was written in Hindi and had been signed by him. “He mentioned that he had a property dispute with some family members. The note also suggested marital discord. It appears that he was depressed,” an officer said.

B K Singh, deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi), said an inquest proceeding has been initiated at Tilak Marg police station. “Pal was rushed to RML Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead,” Singh said.

Pal hailed from Dhanaura Silver Nagar in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhagat district. His last rites were conducted on Monday evening after the post-mortem. A senior police officer said Pal’s brother is also posted with the Delhi Police. Pal is survived by his wife and two children.

A suicide note was found in which he mentioned a property dispute and marital discord, police said