Uttarakhand farmer suicide: Five-member SIT formed to probe case

Dehradun, Jan 15 (PTI): A five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe various aspects of the alleged suicide of farmer Sukhwant Singh in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district, officials said on Thursday.

According to an order issued by the state police headquarters, 12 police personnel posted at the ITI police station and the Paiga police outpost in Kashipur have been transferred with immediate effect from the Kumaon range to the Garhwal range. They have been posted to Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts to ensure a fair and impartial investigation.

Sukhwant Singh, a resident of Paiga village in Kashipur, allegedly shot himself dead in a hotel room in Haldwani area of Nainital district in the early hours of January 11. Before taking the extreme step, he posted a video on social media alleging that he had been cheated of around Rs 4 crore in a land deal and that the police failed to act on his complaint, which left him distressed.

The SIT, headed by Neelesh Anand Bharne, who is also Inspector General of the Special Task Force (STF), includes Champawat Superintendent of Police Ajay Ganpati, Tanakpur Circle Officer Vandana Verma, Inspector Diwan Singh Bisht posted in Champawat and Sub-Inspector Manish Khatri.

The SIT has been directed to examine the video circulated on social media by the deceased and the complaint sent by him via email. In his complaint, the farmer had levelled allegations against locals of Udham Singh Nagar district as well as officers and personnel of the district police.

The order said that, in the interest of a fair and transparent investigation, a total of 12 police personnel, including two suspended sub-inspectors, have been transferred with immediate effect to Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts.

On January 12, Udham Singh Nagar Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manikant Mishra had said that Sub-Inspector Kundan Singh Rautela, in-charge of Kotwali ITI, and Sub-Inspector Prakash Bisht have been suspended with immediate effect, and department disciplinary action has also been initiated against both of them.

In addition, the entire police staff posted at Paiga police outpost under Kotwali ITI has been transferred to the reserve lines, including the in-charge Sub-Inspector Jitendra Kumar and a total of 10 officers and personnel, the SSP said. PTI DPT AKY AKY