A 24-year-old delivery executive died on October 20, more than two weeks after he was allegedly assaulted during a dispute over a torn Rs 10 note in East Vinod Nagar, east Delhi. Police have arrested two men and added a provision relating to abetment of suicide to the case after his death.
The deceased, identified as Sameer Hussain, had called the police control room at around 11.03pm on October 4, alleging that two residents had assaulted him after he refused to accept a torn currency note as payment for a delivery. The incident was reported at Kalyanpuri police station.
According to a video recorded during the investigation and cited in the report, Hussain said he had delivered coffee to an elderly customer who took around 10 to 15 minutes to arrange the payment. He said the customer eventually handed him cash that included a torn Rs 10 note.
Hussain allegedly told investigators that he objected to accepting the damaged note and offered to cancel the order. He said he also questioned why the order had been placed if the payment could not be made properly. According to his account, the customer abused him before another man arrived and slapped him multiple times.
Hussain further alleged that the man mocked him over his middle-class background. The allegations have not been independently established in the supplied report. Police later received information that Hussain had allegedly consumed a poisonous substance. He was admitted to Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital on October 5 and died on October 20.
A medico-legal case was prepared shortly after midnight on October 5, and police registered an FIR at Kalyanpuri police station later that day. Following Hussain’s death, police added Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with abetment of suicide.
The two arrested men have been identified as Rakesh, also known as Bunti, 30, and Rampal Singh, 65. The case remains under investigation, with the police action now covering the alleged assault, Hussain’s death and the circumstances leading to the addition of the BNS provision.
