Delhi Bar employee found dead in Tis Hazari court; police say no foul play

Colleagues told police that the deceased, a resident of Shahadra, had contracted tuberculosis and reportedly told his friends that he was feeling unwell on Wednesday afternoon. Police said they are awaiting the post-mortem report

A junior employee of the Delhi Bar Association was found dead inside the Tis Hazari court complex on Thursday morning, with investigators saying that they haven’t found anything pointing towards foul play in the 32-year-old’s death.

The deceased, who also cleaned the lawyers’ chamber at the court complex in the morning, often spent the nights at chambers of different advocates within the court complex. (Picture for representation only/HT Archive)

His colleagues told police that the deceased, a resident of Shahadra, contracted tuberculosis and reportedly told his friends that he was feeling unwell on Wednesday afternoon.

Deputy commissioner of police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said, “He was unwell and had tuberculosis. His friends said that he drank regularly and heavily... Prima facie, it does not look like there is foul play behind his death. There are no external injuries. We are awaiting the post-mortem report.”

Police said the chamber was not ransacked and his belongings, such as cell phone and wallet, were intact. There were some blood stains on the dustbin in the room but police suspect that it may be due to the man vomitting inside the room before his death. The deceased, who also cleaned the lawyers’ chamber at the court complex in the morning, often spent the nights at chambers of different advocates within the court complex.

The incident came to light on Thursday morning, when a court staff reached chamber 192 of the eastern wing inside Tis Hazari and found him lying unconscious inside the chamber.

On Thursday, as soon as the police control room received information about a man’s body found in one of the chambers of the Tis Hazari complex, senior Delhi police officers visited the spot as a crime team collected forensic evidence.

Police are yet to register a case and are awaiting the post-mortem report before proceeding with the investigation. The body has been kept at the Sabzi Mandi mortuary.

The courts in the city have been on high alert since the murder of gangster Jitender Maan, alias Gogi, inside the Rohini court complex nearly two months ago. Gogi was shot dead by gunmen on September 24 during a court hearing. The two gunmen had posed as lawyers to gain entry to the court and fired at least 18 bullets, killing Gogi on the spot.

After the incident, Delhi police conducted a security audit and handed the court’s security to its security wing, a specialised unit within the force that deals only with security matters. Before the incident, the security of the seven lower courts in Delhi was handled by the local police personnel.