Court rules out foul play in cop drowning at training centre

In 2016, the agency filed a closure report before the Saket Court, stating that it was a case of accidental drowning.

Thirteen years after Delhi Police constable Manish Kumar died after drowning inside a water tank at a police training centre in Malviya Nagar, a Delhi court has closed the case, ruling out foul play.

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In an order dated September 16 and uploaded on Monday, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Jyoti Maheshwari observed that while the death of a young police trainee was unfortunate, there was no evidence to suggest homicide.

“It is indeed unfortunate that a young police official, undergoing training with bright future prospects, lost his life in such innocuous circumstances. However, after considering all the material on record, this court is of the considered opinion that no prima facie case is made out,” the court said.

The court dismissed a protest petition filed by the constable’s father, assistant sub-inspector Krishan Kumar, who had challenged the CBI’s closure report and claimed that there was foul play involved in killing his son. The court said that for any contention of the protest petitioner to stand before the court of law, it is essential that unwavering hope is met with clear evidence on record. Dismissing the father’s petition, the court said, “However, this does not seem to be the case, in this matter”.

Manish Kumar, 23, was found dead in a water tank on the night of May 2-3, 2012, at the 7th Battalion’s Police Training Centre. Following a murder FIR lodged by his father, the case was initially investigated by the Delhi Police Crime Branch before being transferred to the CBI in 2014 on the directions of the Delhi High Court.

In 2014, in response to a writ petition moved by Kumar’s kin, the case was transferred by the Delhi High Court to the CBI.

In 2016, the agency filed a closure report before the Saket Court, stating that it was a case of accidental drowning.

In 2018, Manish’s father moved a revision plea, challenging the report, following which a court directed the CBI to conduct further probe on several aspects of the case which had not been investigated properly.

In November 2019, the second and the current closure report was filed by the agency, on the ground that even after conducting further investigation thoroughly on all the aspects, no fresh evidence had emerged which could show that the death of the deceased was homicidal or suicidal in nature.

Challenging the findings, Kumar’s father filed a fresh protest plea through advocate Sahil Mongia. He contended that there were several injuries on Manish’s body which could not be sustained from accidental drowning. He also claimed that the lowers of Manish were not seized by the police from the spot and was mysteriously kept inside his trunk on a later date.

The counsel further argued that slippers belonging to someone were seen outside the water tank in which Manish died, however, the same was not visible in the video-graphic evidence, which raised doubts about the presence of other persons.

He further alleged that the forensics team arrived several minutes late which led to destruction of evidence and the crime scene was not adequately recreated by the investigating agency.

The court noted that it had surfaced from witness accounts that Manish was suffering from Typhoid and had covered himself with a blanket a few hours before the incident, on the night of May 2.

“The inference that the deceased may have entered the tank to cool his body temperature, is a plausible investigative conclusion and not ruled out by medical opinion on record,” the court said.

The court said that with no signs of struggle and no injuries except those already dealt with above, the protest plea fell short of substance. “The crime scene has been recreated within the limits of safety and it is reasonably clear that the investigating has done everything in its scope, to ensure a thorough investigation,” it said, concluding that it was a case of accidental drowning and not homicide.