13 hrs ago
Gurugram Police Chief Apologises for Lapses in Cremation Case
Police in Gurugram found a body in a field on September 10.
They later cremated it without knowing it was Yuvraj Manchanda.
The police chief told the Supreme Court that officers made mistakes and apologised.
The body’s details were entered into a police database only after the cremation.
Police also did not promptly tell a magistrate or nearby police forces, according to the affidavit.
Officials have started departmental proceedings against some officers.
Delhi Police and Gurugram Police gave different accounts of when records were shared.
Delhi Police said quick database updates can help match missing people with unidentified bodies.
Gurugram Police Commissioner Sibash Kabiraj acknowledged procedural lapses in handling the unidentified body of Yuvraj Manchanda and apologised in a Supreme Court affidavit filed October 1.
Police said the body was found in Sector 70 on September 10, autopsied on September 14 and cremated as unidentified; its CCTNS recovery entry was uploaded on September 15.
The affidavit cited delayed database entry, failure to notify an Executive Magistrate within 24 hours and failure to alert adjoining districts and states.
Departmental proceedings were initiated against investigating officer ASI Sahun Khan and SHO Rajesh Kumar; action was also recommended against control-room in-charge ESI Hasina.
Gurugram and Delhi Police accounts differ on when records were handed over and when Delhi Police learned the body had been recovered and cremated.
- Who
- Gurugram Police Commissioner Sibash Kabiraj acknowledged lapses in the handling of Yuvraj Manchanda’s body; several Gurugram police personnel face departmental action.
- What
- Gurugram Police admitted procedural failures in identifying and reporting an unidentified body that was later cremated as Manchanda.
- Where
- Sector 70, Gurugram; the body was cremated at Ram Bagh Crematorium.
- When
- The body was found on September 10; the compliance affidavit was filed on October 1.
- Why
- The stated lapses included delayed database entry and failures to notify a magistrate and alert neighbouring police jurisdictions, hindering efforts to identify the deceased.
Gurugram Police account
Delhi Police account
When records were transferred
Gurugram Police account
Gurugram CP Sibash Kabiraj said the Delhi Police approached on September 15 and the case property and documentation were handed over that day.
Delhi Police account
Delhi Police said inquest papers and the post-mortem report were produced at Lajpat Nagar police station on September 21.
When Delhi Police learned of the recovery
Gurugram Police account
Gurugram’s affidavit said Delhi Police approached the district police about the FIR on September 15.
Delhi Police account
Delhi Police said its officers were tracking suspects in Uttarakhand on September 15–16 and discovered the body’s recovery and cremation on September 18.
Key facts
- Deceased
- Yuvraj Manchanda, a Delhi-based real estate professional
- Body discovered
- September 10 in a waterlogged open field near a drain in Sector 70, Gurugram
- Autopsy and cremation
- Autopsy on September 14; cremated as unidentified at Ram Bagh Crematorium
- Database entry
- CCTNS Form IIF-10 recovery entry uploaded on September 15, after cremation
- Supreme Court affidavit
- Filed by Gurugram CP Sibash Kabiraj on October 1, with an unqualified apology for lapses
- Departmental action
- Proceedings initiated against ASI Sahun Khan and SHO Rajesh Kumar; action recommended against ESI Hasina
- Disputed timeline
- Gurugram said records were handed to Delhi Police on September 15; Delhi Police said relevant papers were produced on September 21 and it learned of the body on September 18
Quotes
Sibash Kabiraj
Gurugram Police Commissioner whose affidavit acknowledged procedural lapses.
“The efficacy of ZIPNet and CCTNS in matching missing persons with unidentified dead bodies depends upon the contemporaneous uploading of both by every participating police unit, and upon a cross-search of these databases before an unidentified dead body is disposed of.”
indianexpress.com
“There was no malafide intention involved on the part of the local police.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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