Suicide attempt by ‘thief’ lands constable in a soup

The suicide attempt by a 19-year-old man at the Dadar railway station has led to departmental action against Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable CD Shinde.

Dilip Patil, who was booked under the Railway Protection (Unlawful Possession) Act 1966 on June 26 for allegedly stealing two packets of booked consignment of jeans, attempted suicide at the Dadar station where he was brought for further enquiries.

“On June 28, he was brought to Dadar for further inquiries,” said Atul Pathak, senior divisional security commissioner, RPF. Patil was accompanied by 21-year-old Gopal Chavan who was also booked for the same offence.

“The duo was produced before the railway magistrate and sent to RPF’s custody. When he was brought to Dadar, Patil got hold of a bottle of kerosene, poured it and set himself ablaze,” Pathak said.

The Government Railway Police has detained Patil under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code for attempted suicide.

When asked as to how Patil managed to burn himself while in police custody, Pathak said, “Usually, we check the accused thoroughly for possession of any kind of explosive material. But the recovery of a match box and the fact that Patil used the same to burn himself will be investigated,” Pathak said.

He added that constable Shinde would be chargesheeted and departmental action would be taken against him.