The Hindu : New Delhi News : Six cops acquitted in custodial death case

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 20, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Six cops acquitted in custodial death case

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, FEB. 19. A Delhi court today acquitted a Sub-Inspector, a Head Constable and five constables of the Delhi police in a custodial death case of 1996 when the family members of the victim turned hostile in the court.

The FIR lodged on a complaint by the family members of the victim, Sonu, charged the police personnel of picking up the deceased from his home at Chankya Place in the Janakpuri area in South-West Delhi and beating him to death in custody.

The FIR alleged that the local police were in search of the brother of the victim in connection with a case. The police picked up the victim out of frustration, the FIR charged.

After beating the victim to death, the accused police personnel took the body to Safdarjung Hospital and left it there without informing the hospital authorities.

Later, a beat constable on duty at the hospital informed the police headquarters on 100 that someone had left an identified body there. However, the police had to register an FIR in the matter when the family members of the victim insisted that Sonu had been picked by the accused police personnel from the house and later beaten to death by them.

However, the Additional Judge Sessions, Lal Singh, acquitted all the accused in the case as family members of the victim, who were material witnesses and on whose complain the case had been lodged, retracted their statements, giving no option to the Judge but to acquit the culprits.

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