Delhi man caught for theft jumps off third floor

A 24-year-old man, picked up by the Ambedkar Nagar police for questioning in a mobile theft case, suffered fractures after he fell down from third floor of the police station’s building in mysterious circumstances on Monday evening.

A 24-year-old man, picked up by the Ambedkar Nagar police for questioning in a mobile theft case, suffered fractures after he fell down from third floor of the police station’s building in mysterious circumstances on Monday evening.

A 24-year-old man, picked up by the Ambedkar Nagar police for questioning in a mobile theft case, suffered fractures after he fell down from third floor of the police station’s building in mysterious circumstances on Monday evening. (Representative Photo)

The family of the victim, a shopkeeper, has alleged that he was mercilessly beaten up and then thrown down from the third floor window by two constables who had brought him to the police station for questioning.

The police, on the other hand, have refuted the allegations saying the shopkeeper, identified as Pankaj Goel, accidentally fell off the window while attempting to escape from the police station. The two constables, the police said, had gone out to have food, leaving the suspect in the room, when the accident took place.

Mandeep Singh Randhawa, deputy commissioner of police (southeast), told HT that they have placed the two constables – Raj Kumar and Sonu – under suspension and a probe has been ordered into the matter. “If the negligence of the two constables is proven, they will be dismissed from their job,” said Randhawa adding the victim suffered fractures in his backbone and is undergoing treatment at AIIMS Trauma Centre.

In a video shot at the hospital by unidentified people, Pankaj purportedly can be heard saying, “Constable Raj Kumar made me squat for a long time and hit me three-four times in my legs. He dragged me towards the window from where I jumped as I feared he him torture me the whole night.”

On Tuesday morning, Pankaj’s family members, relatives and neighbours gathered at the police station and raised slogans against Delhi Police.

The protesters accused the local police of illegally detaining Pankaj in a mobile theft case and subjecting him to police torture. They also accused the two constables of allegedly harassing Pankaj to settle their scores.