FIR against 2 IPS officer, other big wigs in Sankalp suicide case

AGRA: On Saturday, Mathura police lodged an FIR against 38 people whose names appeared in a suicide noteSankalp Anand, a lecturer at National Institute of Criminology and Forensic Science (NICFS) and son of Bollywood lyricist Santosh Anand had left behind. Importantly, the FIRs, registered under Section 306 (abetment of suicide) of the IPC, includes the name of IPS officer Kamlendra Prasad (1981 batch), currently in the running for the post of UP police chief."He was also the ex-director of NICFS,” inspector general (IG) Sunil Gupta said. Sankalp, a lecturer at NICFS, had committed suicide on Oct 15 along with his wife by coming in front of a speeding train. His three-year-old daughter, however, had miraculously escaped. “The other IPS officer named in the FIR is Sanjeev Mittal, who was a DIG at the institute,” Gupta said. All the people whom Sankalp had named in his suicide note, accusing them of being responsible for his death, have been named in the FIR. SSP Mathura Manzil Saini said the FIR was lodged on the basis of a four-line application submitted by Santosh Anand. “A police team has been dispatched to New Delhi to collect handwriting samples of the deceased, along with his signature samples,” the SSP said. Director of NICFS Rina Mitra has also sought details of the suicide note and a copy of the FIR from the police to set up an internal probe as Sankalp had named the institute’s ex-director Kamlendra Prasad too. Sankalp, along with his wife Nandini Anand and daughter Riddhima, had driven all the way to Mathura and then jumped before an intercity train travelling from Agra to Delhi on October 15. While the couple died on the spot, the child escaped with severe injuries on her hands and head. Sankalp had then left an 11-page suicide note in his car, accusing 38 people and holding them responsible for the tragedy. Three days after they were found dead near the Kosi Kalan railway track, Santosh Anand had pleaded with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Rajnath Singh that the CBI be allowed to probe the suicide of his son and daughter-in-law. Speaking to the media, Santosh Anand said it appeared like his son was “forced to commit suicide”. He said he was concerned that “many big names” were embroiled in the case and feared for his family’s security. “I don’t think the Uttar Pradesh police will be able to defend us or give us justice. I want the Centre to launch a CBI probe,” he said.