Teen found hanging from celing fan at observation home

A juvenile in protective custody allegedly committed suicide at the Observation Home for Boys in north Delhi’s Kingsway Camp on Tuesday. No suicide note has been recovered, police said.

According to police, the boy was found hanging from a ceiling fan in the Sewa Kutir Complex’s dormitory at around 5.10 pm.  On being informed, the observation authorities took him to Hindu Rao Hospital in Malka Ganj. Subsequently, police were also informed about the incident.

“The juvenile was declared brought dead,” said Vijay Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North West).

Principal magistrates of all the three Juvenile Justice Boards in Delhi, authorities in the Department of Women and Child Development and the SHO of Mukherjee Nagar police station were informed.

The boy was admitted to the observation home by the order of the Principal Magistrate of Juvenile Justice Board-II. A team of local police has visited the spot and collected CCTV footage. The statements of staff have also been recorded.

“We have ruled out foul play. There were no external injury marks on the body. It appears as if the boy took the extreme step out of depression,” Singh added. 

On Wednesday, the Delhi government initiated a departmental inquiry. It will be conducted by the Director of Women and Child Development Department.

“The departmental inquiry will ascertain whether there was any foul play in the case and will also fix responsibility in the entire matter,” said a Delhi government officer.

Separately, a report about the incident has been submitted to the District Magistrate (North) for initiating further necessary action. Apart from this, the Principal Magistrate of the Juvenile Justice Board is also conducting a probe.

A Principal Magistrate of Juvenile Justice Board has already visited the observation home and conducted a preliminary inquiry by taking statements of few juveniles. The matter was subsequently reported to the Registrar General of Delhi High Court.