Delhi biker death: Police deny family’s claim of delayed help during search

NEW DELHi: Relatives and friends of Kamal Dhyani alleged they did not get timely support from police or authorities during their night-long search for him.

Police, though, refuted the claim, detailed measures they took to trace him and said they provided his near and dear ones with all possible help.


Kamal's twin brother, Karan, and friend Mayank also raised suspicions of foul play, noting that they had inspected all pits along a stretch of Joginder Singh Marg they had zeroed in on and spotted no one, barely hours before his body was found in one of the pits. Police said there were looking into unconfirmed reports of a fight involving Kamal.

The bereaved relatives had reportedly sought CCTV footage from the area, but claimed police told them the cameras didn't have recording or playback mechanisms and could show only live feed.

They also alleged that police didn't provide them with the exact location of Kamal's phone and wondered why it was not tracked to the end, which they believe could have helped trace him earlier.

"We went to Janakpuri police station and told the cops that Kamal's phone was still switched on. They gave us a location radius of 200 metres but not the exact place where we could find him. As a result, we were in the dark and wasted time looking for him also in nearby parks," Karan said, adding that the search party found no one while scanning all the pits within this 200m radius with flashlights.

Safety measures like deploying police and putting up barricades around the pit where Kamal's body was later found were in place only on Friday morning, Mayank said, adding had these steps been taken earlier, his friend might still have been alive.

Police said Karan and some of Kamal's friends had visited Vikaspuri police station at 1.35 am in search of him. They were informed that neither was there any record of a road accident involving him nor a medico-legal certificate in his name. His bike was also not reported missing.

Since Kamal made the last call to his family from Janakpuri district centre earlier at night, the search party then proceeded there. Later, at 2.50 am, Karan formally reported at Janakpuri police station that his brother was missing, police said. He then met sub-inspector Awant, who accessed Kamal's mobile location, which showed his location near Possangipur Park in Janakpuri.

Kamal's photograph, personal details and information of the bike were immediately circulated to the west district control room, SHOs' group and the Janakpuri police station WhatsApp group. A search was promptly launched. The team included head constable Ramkesh; constable Tejpal; Vikas, a home guard; and Kamal's friends and relatives, police said. Together, they combed Possangipur Park, nearby parking spaces and colonies in the vicinity. Despite hours of thoroughly scanning the area, neither Kamal nor his bike could be traced at that time.