A day after an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) shot himself dead while on duty in north Delhi’s Civil Lines, the family has alleged that the man was depressed due to work pressure and claimed that he was ill-treated by a senior officer a few days prior to the incident.
Hanuman Sahay, a resident of Sant Nagar in Burari, was posted in the Police Control Room unit for the past 18 months.
He allegedly committed suicide on Friday afternoon when he had gone to get a service vehicle repaired.
The family alleged that Mr. Sahay was ill-treated by a senior officer on February 24 and he had been upset ever since.
“That day, he was on night duty. A senior officer came and gave him an earful over something about his work. He abused him and said, ‘ tujhe kaam karna sikha dunga’ (I’ll teach you how to work),” said Mr. Sahay’s paternal uncle Tulsi Ram.
‘Was tired of night shifts’
Mr. Ram claimed that the ASI’s son Deepak (26), who works in a private firm, had gone to meet an official a few days ago to seek a transfer for his father. “We wish we had given a formal application and not just met them. He might have been saved,” said Mr. Ram.
The family said that Mr. Sahay was diagnosed with depression four years ago and was undergoing treatment at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. They added that his depression was triggered after an incident at central Delhi’s Daryaganj police station, where Mr. Sahay was posted back then.
“He was posted in the Malkhana in Daryaganj. There also, a senior put a lot of unnecessary pressure on him. He sought a transfer eventually,” said Mr. Ram.
Another relative said that Mr. Sahay sometimes work for nearly 18 hours in one shift and often kept odd hours. “Often, he was put on the night shift. He would work for anything between 15-18 hours on some days. It happens with almost everyone in the force but he couldn’t take the pressure,” he said.
“Hanuman was criticised by his seniors because he wouldn’t do anything wrong even if asked,” the family alleged.
‘Kin didn’t raise issue’
Reaction to the allegations, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Police Control Room) Devender Arya said that the family did not raise the issue when he had gone to the hospital on Friday.
“If they have any concerns, they can come and meet me. In fact, Mr. Sahay had on Thursday requested a day shift, and it was done,” he said.
