GHAZIABAD: Eight policemen of Sahibabad police station here have been suspended after they were found guilty of a custodial death, an officer said on Saturday.
Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) H.N. Singh suspended eight staffers of Sahibabad police station including the Inspector Incharge, his assistant -- a Senior Sub-Inspector (SSI) -- three Sub-Inspectors and three constables, including the head clerk of the police station.
The suspended staff have been identified as Inspector Sudhir Tyagi, Sub Inspectors Akhilesh Gaur, Neeraj Kumar Tyagi, Gajendra Singh, Atul Kumar and constables Prem Singh, Rahul and Sanjiv.
The SSP's action came after an inquiry report conducted by a senior police officer, Rajesh Kumar from Meerut, found the policemen guilty of the custodial death.
Police apathy came to light when a man admitted to the Narendra Mohan Hospital was identified as Mandeep Negi in the records but after he died, the body was tagged as "unidentified" when shifted to the mortuary. Police also cremated him as "unidentified".
According to police records, on July 9, three residents, Aditya, Ajit, Arjun and Rinku overpowered a suspected thief in Shyam Park Extension and handed him over to police.
After the suspect went missing from home, the family members on July 10 approached police and lodged complaint that "their son is missing since July 9". However, instead of registering a complaint, police sent them back.
The family members stayed in touch with police till July 12 but on July 15, police cremated the suspected thief as "unidentified", alleged Satya Pal Chaudhary, a social activist and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader, who pursued the matter.
On July 16, when family members identified the deceased, they alleged Inspector Sudhir Tyagi misled them, did not register their complaint and cremated their son, who was later identified as Mandeep Negi.
They alleged that their son was killed in police custody and protested outside the police station.
When police faced a tough resistance from the public, it filed a case against its Aditya, Ajit and Arjun.
But the family members contradicted the police claim and protested against the police atrocity.
"Although the SSP has delivered the justice to the grieved family, a criminal case should be registered against the erring staff," said BSP leader Satya Pal Chaudhary.