Gram sachiv falls to death in presence of policemen

Hisar, January 6

A gram sachiv, booked in a criminal case for not handing over the records of the previous panchayats, succumbed to his injuries after he mysteriously fell from the first floor in the presence of a police team at his house in Arya Nagar village here last night.

Ram Prasad was posted as a gram sachiv at Bahal block in Bhiwani district and was incharge of the records of the gram panchayats of Bahal, Surpura Khurd and Sorda Kadim villages in the district. He was suspended by the Bhiwani DC for not handing over the records of the previous panchayats to the newly elected panchayat last year.

The issue was raised before Agriculture Minister Jai Prakash Dalal during a Jan Samvad programme at Bahal on September 3, and he directed the police to register a case against the gram sachiv. He was booked under Section 409, IPC, on January 3.

Sumit Kumar, SHO, Bahal police station, said the police had gone to his house to ask him about the records, and to tell him to join the investigation. “He told them that the records were kept in a room on the second floor. As the police accompanied him, he suddenly ran out and jumped,” the SHO said, claiming that they had followed due procedure in the case.

Hisar police spokesperson Vikas, however, said they would take action after preliminary inquiry.

Association seeks judicial probe

Narender Kundu, state president of the Gram Sachiv Welfare Association, Haryana, has demanded a judicial inquiry into Ram Prasad’s death. He alleged that he was kept in illegal custody and the police were responsible for his death. “The accused cops should be arrested after the registration of a criminal case against them,” he stated.