‘Cops thrashed Sompal for stealing a pair of slippers’

Sompal, 24, a street vendor, suspected to have been killed in the police custody, was reportedly brought to the Adarsh Nagar police station and thrashed by the constables for stealing a pair of slippers, sources said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police have claimed that Sompal had been arrested thrice before, and that the Station House Officer (SHO) was not present in the station at the time of Sompal’s questioning. They said he only came after the vendor had fallen off the terrace.

Sources, however, said the police statement was a mere attempt to save face. When this DNA reporter queried the police regarding the status report of the previous cases against the vendor, they said they were not aware of them.

A police source, requesting anonymity, said first the Delhi Police included the SHO’s name in the FIR and are now claiming that he was not even present in the office when the incident took place.

“The truth is that the SHO helped the other accused constables — Kuldeep, Surendra, Suraj and Sulender — in removing the body and destroying the evidence. The official car of the SHO, in which the body was taken, was later washed,” he added.

Regarding other cases registered against Sompal, a senior police officer said: “He has cases of theft, causing hurt, and assembling for the purpose of committing dacoity registered against him. As of now, I don’t know the status of these cases or whether he was convicted or not.”

Meanwhile, Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP) Dependra Pathak said: “Action against the five accused will be decided after the report of the judicial magisterial inquiry and the post mortem are out. Strict action will be taken against those involved.”