Girl hangs herself in Delhi police-post, cops 'panicked and hid'
Tense moments unfolded at the Tilak Vihar police post in Delhi in the wee hours of Sunday, when a 17-year-old girl, whose family had approached police over her 'friendship' with a neighboring youth, hanged herself. Her brother alleged the cops were very unhelpful. "I had to call the police control room to report the death which took place inside a police post," he rued. But police have denied the allegations.
The two families' relationship had soured over their 'friendship'
The girl and the boy's families, next-door neighbors in Tilak Vihar, were friendly, but things turned sour four months ago, residents said. According to the girl's family, their 21-year-old neighbor had started following her on her way to school. Her brother claimed he wanted to marry the minor. "Locals said he had been boasting he'd soon become my brother-in-law," he said.
The girl and boy were 'missing' for hours before
There were scuffles and arguments between the two families sometimes, but things reached a boiling point when the girl and the boy disappeared Saturday night. Her family confronted the other, accusing them of kidnapping her. Verbal arguments turned into a physical fight before the two approached the local police post to lodge complaints against each other. Suddenly, the girl turned up at 2:30am.
As the two families bickered, girl hung herself
The teenager declared she didn't want to go back to her family. According to DCP Vijay Kumar, she was afraid they would thrash her. Before she killed herself, she had also agreed to stay at a shelter home, he added. Around 3am, the boy's family demanded an FIR be registered. In the chaos, she escaped to another room and hanged herself with her dupatta.
Police locked her up, hid when she hung herself: Family
Details about her suicide differ. According to the girl's brother, police had "locked her up" in a room. "I was confined in an adjacent room with my two cousins." From there, they could apparently see her hanging herself, but before they could save her, she had died. In the chaos, the cops "panicked and ran into separate rooms," he said. She remained hanging for two hours.
Police deny allegations, but action taken against four cops
DCP Kumar, however, had a different narrative. "The girl had locked the door from inside. Police officers broke it open to save her. Her body was brought down by police officers." However, two cops had been sent to district lines and two others suspended as they had "failed to perform their duties properly" that allowed the girl to "find a chance and commit suicide."
Vigilance department to probe police's role
The girl had recently cleared her Class 12 exams with 76% marks. A magisterial enquiry has now been ordered. Police's vigilance department will probe if there was any laxity by the personnel present.
