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Son of restaurant owner ends life, kin accuse constable of abetment
The victim has left a suicide note stating that a constable was demanding Rs 50 lakh from him and he was under great tension, says family
Son of a restaurant owner ended his life by hanging self from a ceiling fan at his house on the Benjamin Road in the Division number 3 area here on Tuesday morning.
The family of the deceased alleged that he committed suicide after being harassed by a policeman.
The family said, “He has also left a suicide note in which he has named a constable of the Division number 3 police station and a resident of the same locality for harassing him. He has also mentioned in the note that the accused were demanding Rs 50 lakh from him.”
The deceased has been identified as Gagandeep Singh Dev, 30. He, along with his father and younger brother, was running a fast food restaurant near the Division number 3 chowk.
Amarjit Singh, father of the deceased, said, “The constable was a friend of Gagandeep. The family of the constable is settled abroad and he was urging Gagandeep to help him in going abroad.”
Singh added, “The constable had demanded Rs 50 lakh from Gagandeep so that he could go abroad. Gagandeep had also asked the cop to wait till the lockdown was over. However, he kept on pressing for money. From Monday midnight till 6 am on Tuesday, the constable made several calls to Gagandeep. However, he did not respond.”
He added, “On Tuesday morning, Gagandeep was very much tensed. He had his breakfast and went upstairs in his room, where he hanged self. His wife was first to witness his body hanging with the fan when she went to call him. When she raised alarm and we also rushed to the room.”
The father of the deceased said, “We rushed Gagandeep to the Christian Medical College and Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.”
Inspector Satish Kumar, SHO at the Division number 3 police station, said, “In the initial inquiry, the police have found that Gagandeep had strained relations with his father and brother. The police have also got a mobile recording of the same in which Gagandeep was speaking to a local about it over the mobile phone. So, the police are probing the case from all angles.”
The inspector added the statement of every family member was being recorded. The police are also scanning the suicide note. Stern action would be taken against the constable if found guilty, he said.
After the police allegedly withdrew his security cover, Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) chief and MLA Simarjit Singh Bains, raising the issue of suicide by Gagandeep Singh, demanded a case against the accused constable of Division number 3 police station for abetment to suicide.
He also demanded action against commissioner of police Rakesh Agrawal for being custodian of the department.
He added, “The police personnel have been extorting money from shopkeepers and vendors. My party stands by the aggrieved family.”
