Punjab cop found dead

A 33-year-old Punjab Police constable was found dead with gunshot wounds at a house in northeast Delhi's New Usmanpur on Monday. It is alleged that he committed suicide, but his family members claim murder, police said.

Anuj Kumar hailed from Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district and was posted in Chandigarh. According to police, he was in the capital to undergo treatment at a deaddiction centre.

“Anuj was found dead at the house of the centre's manager,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North East) Veenu Bansal.

A team from New Usmanpur police station is investigating the matter, but no case has been filed so far.

The initial probe has revealed that Anuj had developed alcohol addiction. “His family members had forced him to attend a de-addiction and rehabilitation centre in Gurgaon on several occasions,” another police officer said.

Anuj was on medical leave for the past four months. He was last admitted to the centre on February 17. A man named Kapil, a resident of New Usmanpur, was the manager.

Police said Anuj left the centre and went to Kapil’s house on Saturday. “A call was made to the PCR after Anuj was found dead at 1.30 am on Sunday,” the officer added.

Pistol found
A team from the local police station went to the spot and found a pistol near Kapil’s body. He was declared brought dead at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital.

“He had sustained two gunshot wounds in the head,” the officer said. The body has been handed over to Anuj’s family after post-mortem. He is survived by his 30-year-old wife Pooja and two children – seven-year-old son and a four-month-old daughter. He had joined police in 2005.

Anuj’s family members claim that he has been murdered. “He left the centre on Saturday, but nobody cared to inform us,” Pooja said. She says that she spoke to a senior officer of the centre, named Sanjiv, but failed to get proper response.