Case Briefs:

1. Vendors death in Police Custody

The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo moto cognizance of a media report
alleging a vendors death in police custody and his body being dumped. It has issued a notice to
the Delhi Police Commissioner, calling for a detailed report in the matter within six weeks. He
has been asked to submit all relevant documents with his report viz. Postmortem report, Inquest
report, Video CD of the postmortem and the magisterial enquiry report in the matter. The
Commission has observed that the allegation of a death in police custody is a matter of concern
for it. It has been emphasizing that the police authorities and State machinery need to be
sensitive towards the rights of persons taken into custody in connection with any criminal case.
The incident amounts to violation of right to life of the victim and is indicative of inhuman
approach of the police personnel who, reportedly, picked up the victim and thrashed him in their
custody to an extent that he lost his life. According to the media reports, the victim, Sompal was
arrested by the police and taken to the Adarsh Nagar Police Station where during questioning, he
was allegedly thrashed by three constables. A few hours later, blood soaked body of Sompal was
lying in the courtyard outside the Police Station, as he jumped from the terrace of the Police
Station. Reportedly, six police personnel including the Station House Officer (SHO), who,
allegedly, tried to hush up the incident by dumping the body of the deceased at another spot,
have been placed under suspension and booked under various sections of the IPC. A probe by the
Sub-Divisional Magistrate has been initiated. The relatives of Sompal, who, hailed from Indore
district of Madhya Pradesh, have alleged that he was beaten up in the custody by three constables
following which he tried to escape. They think that policemen threw him down from the terrace.