Sec 33 robbed jeweller’s driver commits suicide

Zirakpur, January 19

Alleging harassment at the hands of the Chandigarh Police in connection with the Sector 33 robbery, a 50-year-old driver of the robbed jeweller committed suicide by jumping before a train at Gazipur village this morning.

The deceased has been identified as Avinash Yadav, a resident of Shagun Enclave, Zirakpur. The deceased left behind a suicide note, which was recovered by the Government Railway Police (GRP).

The note, purportedly written by Avinash in Hindi, said, “Main bekasoor hoon, lekin police ki maar aur logon ki zillat ka samna karne ki himmat nahi hain, pyare bacho is baat ke liye maaf karna, mere baad mere parivar ko pareshan na kiya jaaye. (I am innocent, but due to harassment by the police and fearing social stigma, I do not have the strength to cope with it. Dear kids, please forgive me, none of my family members should be harassed after my death).”

The suicide note was shown to his 27-year son Pankaj, who claimed that it was his father’s handwriting. The police, are, however yet to match the handwriting.

Pankaj blamed the  Chandigarh Police for harassing his father in the name of interrogation.

 The deceased, Avinash, worked as a driver of the jeweller, Ajit Jain, a resident of Sector 33, Chandigarh. On January 9, four masked robbers entered Jain’s house and took his wife and daughter hostage at gunpoint and looted jewellery. The loss of jewellery was estimated to be around Rs 1.5 crore. A case in this regard was registered at the Sector 34 police station.

The police picked up the mobile dump data of 1,000 phones in the area and interrogated Jain’s servants, drivers and boutique employees as they suspected the involvement of someone who was acquainted with the family.

In their complaint to the GRP, family members of the deceased alleged that following the robbery at Jain’s house on January 9, the police took his father to the police station on several occasions and tortured him.

Depressed over this, and fearing social stigma that his name had been falsely implicated in the robbery case, the victim committed suicide. According to eyewitnesses, Avinash drove an Activa and parked it near the railway track and jumped before the train.

The GRP in-charge said they received information about a body lying on the track around 10.15 am. A GRP team rushed to the spot and took the body into its possession. The body has been kept at the mortuary of the Civil Hospital, Dera Bassi, where the postmortem will be conducted tomorrow.

The deceased has left behind his wife and four children, including three daughters who are students. His son Pankaj works at a mobile shop.