Senior Himachal cop booked for abetment to suicide

SHIMLA - A senior police official here has been booked for abetment to suicide and trying to destroy evidence from the crime scene, Shimla police said Monday.

The district police chief, however, has written to higher authorities to transfer the case to crime investigation department (CID) as he is not competent to carry on with the investigation.

Inspector General (Law and Order) Pradeep Kumar Sarpal, his wife and his son Sidharth Sarpal were booked last (Sunday) evening for abetting Ritu Kalmatias suicide and later tampering with evidence, Superintendent of Police R.M. Sharma told IANS.

He said the policemen who were investigating the case have also been booked.

The case against the police official was registered on the complaint of the victims family members, he said.

Ritu, 28, committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan at her residence here Sunday. At the time of suicide, she was alone in the house, police said.

However, her parents and family members allege that she was forced to end her life after the parents of Sidharth, with whom she had been having an affair for quite some time, turned down the proposal for their marriage.

They also said since the father of the boy was a senior police officer, the case might not be investigated properly and evidence could be wiped out.

Ritu took the extreme step after Sidharth, who is a sub-judge in the state, got engaged to another woman with the consent of his family.

Her family also said police along with Sarpal reached the spot and tampered with evidence.

Meanwhile, Sharma Monday wrote to Director General of Police G.S. Gill to get the case investigated by the CID.

I have written to Gill to transfer the case to the CID as I am not competent to carry on with the investigation as a senior police official is involved in the case, Sharma told reporters here.

Sarpal, who is posted in the police headquarters here, said: My son and the victim were friends for a long time. The mother of the woman approached us with a marriage proposal. We considered it and consulted astrologers, but their horoscopes did not match. We informed her that the marriage was not possible.