Noida: Cops cremate body of missing Manipuri man, three suspended

A 22-year-old Manipuri man who went missing after attending a musical concert of ‘Chainsmokers’ in Noida on September 8 was found dead by the Noida police the next day near Nithari market. Three officers were suspended for laxity as the body was cremated without informing the man’s family.

The police failed to recognise the body of Pravish Chanam and cremated it after 72 hours without informing his family. A missing complaint was lodged by his brother Ravi Kant Chanam, a resident of Greater Noida, on September 9.

The senior superintendent of police Love Kumar suspended three officers and sent one to police lines.

SSP Kumar suspended sub-inspector Kishori Raman and constable Sanjeev Kumar of Knowledge Park Police station and sub-inspector-cum-chowki in-charge of Sector 20, Rakesh Babu. Akhilesh Tripathi, station house officer of Knowledge Park police station, has been transferred to the police lines.

Chanam was missing after the concert on September 8. A grainy CCTV footage had shown Chanam being accompanied by an unidentified woman.

“Chanam had come to Noida from Manipur to attend a music concert. He had arrived on September 7 and was staying at a friend’s place.We found video footage at the entry of the concert where a person, who could be Chanam, was accompanied by a woman, but this couldn’t be verified. Now, it has emerged that Chanam has been found dead,” said Suniti, superintendent of police (rural).

On September 9, Ravi Kant Chanam had lodged a missing person complaint at Knowledge Park Police station. However, SI Kishori Raman and constable Sanjeev Kumar had failed to inform the police control room about the missing person’s case after lodging an FIR. On the same day, the police found an unknown body near the meat market in Nithari, Sector 20. After waiting for 72 hours, the Sector 20 police cremated the body. However, a few days later, Ravi identified his missing brother through the clothes and photograph of the body.

The SSP then began an internal inquiry and found at least four policemen guilty of negligence.

“SSP Kumar has taken action against the policemen as they failed to report the missing person’s case to the control room. Due to their actions, other police stations were not aware of missing person. When the body of Chanam was found in the meat market of Nithari, Sector 20 police team failed to identify the body,” said Prabhat Dixit, public relations officer, Gautam Budh Nagar police

According to the police, the post-mortem report stated that Pravish Chanam had died due to a drug overdose.

“Chanam had not been feeling well and had gone to district hospital on his own for a check-up. After the check-up, he was found near the meat market in mysterious circumstances. However, the post-mortem report revealed that he had died due to a drug overdose,” said Anil Kumar Shai, station house officer, Sector 20 police station.

SSP Kumar has given a stern warning to all SHOs, asking them to follow the protocol while dealing with missing person cases.“The SSP has asked SHOs to follow the procedure in such cases and if a need arises, they must coordinate with phone calls and WhatsApp,” said Dixit.