Gangster attempts to die by suicide in police custody in Gurugram

Kaushal snatched a hair trimmer from a barber who was called to cut his hair at the CIA office at 1pm on Monday, and tried to slit his own throat

Gangster Kaushal, 38, attempted to die by suicide while in police custody at the crime investigation agency (CIA) office in Palam Vihar on Monday, police officers aware of the matter said on Tuesday. According to the police, Kaushal attempted to slit his throat with a hair trimmer but was spotted and saved by members of the CIA team.

On August 26, 2019, the special task force (STF) of the Haryana police had arrested Kaushal at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi. (HT Archive)

Read here: Punjab gangster’s killing: Four members of Bishnoi, Goldy Brar gangs held in shootout with police

According to the police, Kaushal snatched the machine from a barber who was called to cut his hair at the CIA office at 1pm on Monday. He has been in their custody since Friday to investigate a murder that occurred in New Colony on May 29, 2020.

A case under Section 309 (suicide attempt) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against Kaushal at the Palam Vihar police station on Monday, said officers.

Although Section 309 is still in effect, the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 (enacted July 2018) has restricted its application and decriminalised such attempts.

“On Monday morning, Kaushal complained of a head and beard allergy. We summoned a barber from a nearby shop and requested that he trim his hair, but he snatched the machine. He attempted to slit his throat, but two of the police officers on the scene saw him and snatched it from Kaushal,” said Joginder Singh, inspector, CIA, Palam Vihar.

Even though nothing untoward happened, Kaushal is being monitored, said Singh. “On September 29, we took Kaushal on production remand from Bhondsi jail. At his request, we called Azad Singh of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, who runs a salon in the Palam Vihar area. We had instructed him not to use any sharp objects for trimming. In order to die by suicide, Kaushal suddenly raised both hands, snatched the barber’s machine, and struck around his neck. Due to the sudden attack on himself, Kaushal suffered injuries on his neck,” he added.

According to the police, on May 29 in 2020, Vikas Dureja, alias Anda, a close aide of gangster Binder Gujjar, was gunned down by a dozen armed men in Gurugram’s Feroz Gandhi Colony. The crime unit of Palam Vihar had taken Kaushal on remand in this murder case.

On August 26, 2019, the special task force (STF) of the Haryana police had arrested Kaushal at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi. According to the police, there are numerous cases of murder, extortion, blackmail, and threat calls made through international numbers against Kaushal; he has more than 200 cases registered against him in Haryana.

Read here: NIA raids: Khalistani-gangsters nexus akin to pre-1993 Mumbai blasts era

Police said Kaushal used internet-based calling to ensure his whereabouts could not be traced. He used voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) to make extortion and threatening calls. He was using virtual numbers, i.e., without a directly associated line, to make the businessmen feel they were getting calls from outside India.