Cop investigating Dalit boy's suicide in Shimla suspended for laxity in probe

Shimla, Oct 15 (PTI) The officer investigating the suicide of a Dalit boy in Rohru sub-division of Shimla was suspended on Wednesday over alleged failure to conduct a fair probe, according to a statement.

The suspension came at the order of Himachal Pradesh Scheduled Caste Commission Chairperson Kuldeep Kumar, who visited Rohru and expressed his dissatisfaction at the way the probe has been conducted so far.

A 12-year-old boy from Limda village of Chidgaon area in Rohru allegedly ingested poison last month after he was locked inside a cowshed and subjected to casteist slurs by some women as punishment for entering their house.

According to the statement, Kumar said he will seek an explanation from the Rohru Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) on the contravention of his order that the matter be booked under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989.

The law was only invoked when the matter reached court, Kumar said.

He also said police had been directed to provide security to the boy's family pending investigation.

The statement said that the commission had been keeping watch on the case right from the beginning and had asked the SDPO on October 1 to submit a report within three days, but a report came from the office of Director General of Police Ashok Tiwari only on October 14.

The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment has given the family Rs 4.12 lakh in aid.

According to the police complaint filed in the matter, the accused called the Dalit boy an "untouchable" and asked for the sacrifice of a goat for the purification of their house.

The boy's father, in his complaint on September 20, said he found his son lying unconscious in the bed on the evening of September 16 and rushed him to a community health centre.

The boy was referred to the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) in Shimla, where he died during treatment the next day.

According to the man, his wife told him that their son was humiliated and locked inside a cowshed by three "upper caste" women after he entered their house while playing.

Traumatised, the boy ate some poisonous substance, which killed him, he said.

In the wake of the incident, police booked the accused women, who are out on anticipatory bail. PTI BPL VN VN