07 April,2010 09:02 AM IST | | Sanjeev Kumar
Man allegedly on way to commit a crime meets with an accident, dies in police care The bike (above)u00a0 used by Vinod and his friend Shyam Murti. PIC/IMTIYAZ KHAN
Did Vinod Sharma die of injuries sustained in an accident or was he beaten to death in police custody? Theu00a0
victim's relatives believe that the latter is true.
Police officials, however, claim that Vinod and his friend Shyam Murti were driving a stolen bike, which they had snatched from a person at R K Puram on the intervening night of March 2-3.
"When they were near Gulabi Bagh, their bike skidded off the road after which they were detained and taken to the police station. Vinod's condition started deteriorating and he was rushed to the hospital where he died. Shyam is undergoing treatment. The duo had earlier stolen a Wagon R from a person in Dhaula Kuan," said a police officer.
Police officials further stated that they recovered a country-made pistol and some drugs from their possession and they had criminal cases registered against them.
Meanwhile, Vinod's cousin Sunil Sharma alleged that the duo was beaten up by policemen, which resulted in Vinod's death. "We received a call around 2 am that Vinod is dead, but we were not told how it happened. We suspect that they have been beaten up by police and this led to his death," he said.
Sunil also rejected police claims that there was an accident and that his cousin and his friend were under the influence of drugs. "The bike didn't bear any scratch marks. I will hold a press conference at the police station to prove that the bike on which my brother and his friend were travelling didn't skid off the road," said Sunil.
Delhi police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said that the SHO of Gulabi Bagh police station, Inderjeet Singh, had been suspended and a judicial inquiry had been ordered into the incident.
"Vinod's body has been sent for post-mortem and the police is awaiting for his medical report as it will clear the doubts about his death, after which police will start further investigations," added a police officer.
Vinod (38), a native of Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir, was working as a businessman in Gurgaon and is survived by his wife and child.
