Former UP DGP-rank officer booked for abetment of suicide of retired Lalitpur teacher’s death

A case has been registered on charges of abetment of suicide against LV Antony Dev Kumar, a retired director general-rank officer of the Uttar Pradesh Police, following the death of a 78-year-old retired government schoolteacher who died after allegedly consuming a poisonous substance at his home in Lalitpur district on Thursday.

The deceased, Rajaram Goswami, a resident of Buragaon Chiglaua village, had been facing trial in a case registered against him under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in 2002 when LV Kumar was superintendent of police in Lalitpur and had allegedly subjected the victim to public humiliation.

LV Kumar retired from service this year.

Goswami’s family has said the case was filed on a false complaint by a local resident belonging to the Scheduled Caste community.

Police have recovered three handwritten suicide notes, allegedly written by the deceased.

Based on a complaint filed by the deceased’s 52-year-old son, Anurag Goswami, police registered a case on charges of abetment of suicide and extortion against the retired police officer and five Buragaon Chiglaua village residents — Gokul Prasad, Kamta Prasad, Devendra Kumar, Gulab and Chotte Lal.

Circle Officer Ashish Mishra said the investigation was underway and that no one had been taken into custody yet.

The criminal case in which Rajaram Goswami was facing trial since 2002 remains pending in a court, with the next hearing scheduled for July 16, he added.

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“The case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was registered in 2002 against 13 villagers, including my father, on the complaint of a local resident. Before the FIR was lodged, the complainant met the then Superintendent of Police, LV Antony Dev Kumar, who came to our village and publicly humiliated my father. My father and the others named in the case were arrested and sent to jail. They were released on bail about two weeks later,” Anurag Goswami, the complainant, said.

The 13 accused were charged with preventing members of the Scheduled Caste community from accessing water for drinking from a well, abusing them with caste-based slurs and assaulting them, he added.

Rajaram Goswami had retired as a teacher from a government-run junior high school.

“The trial has reached its final stage. During the last two court hearings, some of the prosecution witnesses — who have now been named in the FIR— allegedly confronted my father, harassed him and made derogatory remarks. My father became deeply distressed by those incidents and ultimately decided to take the extreme step,” Anurag alleged.

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According to Anurag, his father called him on Thursday afternoon and told him that it was their last conversation. Alarmed, he rushed home and found Rajaram vomiting. The family said Rajaram told them he had consumed a poisonous substance, following which they took him to hospital for treatment.

Anurag alleged that while they were on the way to the hospital, his father handed him three handwritten suicide notes that he had kept in his pocket. According to the complaint, one note was addressed to the district judge, another to the superintendent of police and the third to the local station house officer.

Anurag claimed that in the notes, Rajaram wrote that he had been publicly humiliated by the then SP Dev Kumar in 2002. The letter also alleged that he had later approached a court and initiated legal proceedings against the then police chief and others.

Anurag further alleged that his father had been under sustained pressure from some villagers to withdraw the case he had filed against the then police officer and others. According to the complaint, Rajaram claimed he had been subjected to continuous harassment and mental torture over the years, which he believed had driven him to take the extreme step. The complaint also alleges that the accused demanded Rs 500,000 from Rajaram while exerting pressure on him.

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“After my father was released from jail, he approached a court seeking registration of a case against the then Superintendent of Police, L.V. Antony Dev Kumar, and others. The court directed that an FIR be registered, but before it could be lodged, the accused approached the High Court, which stayed the order. The matter is still pending before the High Court,” Anurag said.

Station House Officer Ramesh Chandra Mishra of Bar police station said no case had been registered on Rajaram’s earlier complaint because the matter had been stayed by a court.

He added that the post-mortem examination could not ascertain the exact cause of death, and the victim’s viscera had been preserved for forensic analysis.

Following Rajaram’s death, family members and villagers refused to conduct his last rites until police registered a criminal case in connection with the allegations. They also blocked a road, demanding legal action against those they held responsible for his death.