Depressed cop shoots self at Supreme Court gate

New Delhi: A Delhi police head constable posted at the Supreme Court allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with his service revolver in the court premises.  

The victim has been identified as head constable Chand Pal, who was deployed in the Supreme Court security team since April 2014.

Senior police officers said that a two-page suicide note was found from Pal’s pocket. Sources said that in the two-page suicide note, Pal mentioned that he was fighting depression because of family reasons. Pal was reportedly facing some marital discord besides being involved in a property dispute with his family members, including his father and brother.

Deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) B.K. Singh said that the incident took place around 8.15 am in a sentry post 50 meters away from the security booth at the G-gate of the apex court. The police said that the G-gate is primarily used for entry and exit by the Supreme Court staff.

“Head constable Chand Pal shot himself in his chest using the service pistol. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors pronounced him dead on admission,” said the DCP.

Pal’s family was informed. His post-mortem was conducted at Lady Hardinge Hospital. Later, his family members took his body to Meerut in Uttar Pradesh for the last rites, the police said.

According to the DCP, Pal was in the morning shift duty from 7 am to 1 pm. “We are trying to find out if Pal was under stress and what forced him to take his own life. The CCTV footage of the area is also being looked into,” added Mr Singh.

The police will be questioning Pal’s family members and colleagues to ascertain the reasons for him taking the extreme step.

A probe has been initiated. The police said that Pal is survived by his wife and two children. They lived in Sector 4 of the police colony in South Delhi’s R.K. Puram.