Murder in police station: Police left fighting men in same room

Senior police officials said that the victim and the accused should have been taken into the interrogation room for questioning, instead of being taken into a room belonging to an investigation officer.

Admitting that there have been lapses on its part, Delhi Police have launched an inquiry after a man was stabbed to death inside one of its police stations in south east Delhi on Tuesday.

Senior police officials said that the victim and the accused should have been taken into the interrogation room for questioning, instead of being taken into a room belonging to an investigation officer. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

Anil (34), a driver by profession, was stabbed to death with an ice pick by his neighbour, Vishal (22), inside Ambedkar Nagar police station in the presence of police personnel around 2.45 am on Tuesday.

The crime took place when both men were inside the investigation officer’s room on the first floor, where a sub-inspector was questioning them. He went to attend other PCR calls, leaving behind a constable to keep an eye on them. However, the constable left the room for about two minutes for some work. On his return, he saw Vishal stabbing Anil with an ice pick.

The sub-inspector and constable have been suspended. Also, the station house officer (SHO) has been sent to district lines.

Senior police officials said that the victim and the accused should have been taken into the interrogation room for questioning, instead of being taken into a room belonging to an investigation officer.

Admitting to lapses in the police investigation, deputy commissioner of police (south-east) Romil Baaniya stated that the station house officer should have ensured that the investigation officer had interrogated the men in the interrogation room. But that didn’t happen, resulting in the incident.

“The incident happened suddenly because of a minor lapse. To determine who is responsible and to what extent, an inquiry has been initiated and its findings will come out in the next 48 hours,” said Baaniya.

Anil’s family said that there was negligence on the part of the police. Lovely, Anil’s wife, said that police knew that Vishal had fought with Anil and was even quarrelling with him inside the police station.

“Both the men should have been kept in separate rooms or police officers should not have left my husband alone with the accused. He died inside a police station in the presence of police, which is supposed to protect innocents. He was killed under their watch,” said Lovely.