Senior Himachal policeman 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.

“Inspector General (Law and Order) Pradeep Kumar Sarpal, his wife and his son Sidharth Sarpal were booked last (Sunday) evening for abetting Ritu Kalmatia’s 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.

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.

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 a day before the crime.

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

“We are investigating the allegations of the victim’s parents and relatives,” Sharma said.

Sarpal 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.”