Police quiz eyewitnesses over Tomar's death

Two of the three eye witnesses who claimed to be present when Delhi police constable Subhash Chand Tomar collapsed during police crackdown on protesters in the capital were quizzed at Delhi Police’s crime branch office on Thursday.

Police have recorded a witness Yogendra Tomar’s statement but said they will verify it to piece the sequence of events. Meanwhile, they have questioned the third witness Salim Alvi but are yet to cross-check his statement’s authenticity before recording it.
Yogendra, a journalism student, before entering the crime branch office, said he was not being pressurised by anyone. He added that he would tell what he had told media before and in public.

“I am not under any kind of pressure. I will tell crime branch officials what I have been saying till now. The constable fell on his own while chasing the crowd. In fact, many protesters came to help him,” Yogendra said. Earlier, he said he saw when the constable collapsed and called the police control room van from nearby. Then he took him to hospital along with the police officers. He has claimed that no one trampled over the cop and there were no injuries marks on his body.

The second eyewitness — Pauline — did not turn up after being called up for giving her statement. She has also backed Yogendra’s version of the story.

“We had called her but she did not come. We will check and are hopeful that she will join the investigation tomorrow (Friday),” deputy commissioner of police (crime) S B S Tyagi told Deccan Herald.  

The 31-year-old third eyewitness Salim Alvi from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday went to Parliament Street police station and submitted a letter to police which stated he had seen that the constable was first beaten and then trampled upon by the protesters. He said, “I came from my home to protest, demanding justice for the gang rape victim. When I was near India Gate I saw a stone was thrown from the crowd at the constable and he fell down. Thereafter, around five to six protesters came and kicked him several times.”

When he was quizzed about who the protesters were, he said they were wearing caps with Aam Aadmi Party inscribed on them.