Clerk commits suicide in courtroom

GHAZIABAD - A court clerk in Ghaziabad committed suicide Tuesday inside the courtroom while a case was being heard, police said.

Police said that the clerk, Rajpal Singh was under severe depression and feared that he might be implicated in the multi-crore-rupee Ghaziabad provident fund (PF) scam.

The clerk, who worked in the court of additional district and sessions judge (fast track court VII) R.N. Singh, consumed celphos (aluminium phosphide - used as a fumigant in agriculture) tablets some time around 12.30 p.m.

“He took out the celphos tablets from his pocket and consumed them when he was asked to get a file. Instead of presenting the file to the sitting judge, he took out the tablets and swallowed them, crying out ‘I am dying. I have been tortured by the circumstances. Please help my children to grow’,” Superintendent of Police (City) A.K. Vijaita said.

The clerk was immediately rushed to the Sarvodaya hospital where he was put on a life support system but died after some time, Vijaita added.

In his four-page suicide note, Rajpal Singh apprehended that he may be implicated in the PF scam. At many places in the note, his writing was indecipherable. His family members said he was under severe depression since last one week.

“The district judge (in charge) Harpal Singh sent the suicide note to police which is the part of the investigation now. A case has been registered and the body has been sent for post-mortem,” Vijaita said.

The scam relates to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs.6.58 crore from various PF accounts of employees of judicial department by the then bill clerk Ashutosh Asthana. Asthana died in jail under mysterious circumstances while the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was probing the scam.