What killed Constable Tomar? Crime Branch to investigate

mangaloretoday.com /NDTV

New Delhi, Dec 26: What killed Constable Tomar? As family grieves, Crime Branch to investigate

But how the 45-year-old died has now become the insalubrious point of dispute between the police and the demonstrators; The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the Delhi Police to submit a detailed report on the circumstances in which Mr Tomar was killed, and the case has been assigned to the Delhi Crime Branch.

 

The controversy comes as Mr Tomar’s family is trying to cope with its grief.  His young son, Deepak, is in Haridwar today to perform the constable’s last rites.  Mr Tomar died early last morning and was cremated with full state honours.


The police says that Mr Tomar was injured severely in the protests; a section of demonstrators allege that this accusation is to combat charges of the lack of restraint shown by the cops while they used batons, tear-gas and water cannons to dispel the protests.

Much of the argument over what killed Mr Tomar is based on doctors sharing that he had no major external injuries when he was admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital.   "The constable had no major external injury marks when he was brought to the hospital," said Dr.PS Sidhu today. 

However, police commissioner Neeraj Kumar said yesterday that doctors had informed him that Mr Tomar had injuries on his head and neck, and that he died of serious internal injuries.
Sources say that the Home Ministry believes that the police must wait for the post-mortem report before discussing any details of Mr Tomar’s death.

Doctors who treated Mr Tomar for two days say that by the time he was brought to their hospital, he had gone through a heart attack.  They also stress that a cardiac arrest could have been brought on by internal injuries or the stress of confronting protestors, and that only a post-mortem report will clearly outline the cause of death.

A man named Yogendra Tomar told NDTV India last night that he was among the protestors nearest to Mr Tomar when the constable doubled over. Yogendra belongs to the Aam Admi Party, headed by Arvind Kejriwal.  He alleges that he was ignored when he asked other policemen to summon a van urgently to move Mr Tomar to hospital (a photograph shows him trying to assist the constable). Yogendra says he then phoned for an ambulance and accompanied Mr Tomar, along with other policemen to hospital.

 

Girl who helped constable Tomar speaks to media: Highlights


New Delhi, Dec 26: Pauline, a girl who helped constable Subhash Tomar when he collapsed during the protests at India Gate on Sunday, addressed media today.

Here are the highlights of what she said:

    * Police was lathi-charging us

    * We turned back to look, there were three-five cops near us

    * We saw him collapse in front of us

    * We asked him to try to breathe

    * He just collapsed, there was no crowd

    * There were no injuries, we opened his jacket so that he could breathe better

    * He was 50 metres away from us

    * We asked the other cops to call an ambulance

    * We asked them to not stand and see, we asked them to get the ambulance, we couldn’t give him any first aid

    * Once the police came, they took him in the police car

    * There were no injuries on him, he was sweating profusely

 

Dead constable had serious injuries before heart-attack death: Post mortem


New Delhi: Delhi Police constable Subhash Tomar’s post mortem report says he suffered serious ante-mortem injuries. Tomar had myocardial infarction and its complication that could be precipitated by ante mortem injuries to neck and chest produced by blunt force impact. The report also says that effusion of blood was present in soft tissues and muscles of neck.

Earlier report

In another twist to the cause of constable Subhash Tomar’s death, the Medical Superintendent at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, S Sidhu, has said that no major external injury marks were found on the body of the deceased constable and that he suffered a knee injury and a chest bruise. He added that Tomar had already suffered a cardiac arrest before he was brought to the hospital.

This came even as the police said there were injuries on Tomar’s stomach, chest and neck, but the post-mortem report is awaited. The Delhi Police have also booked eight people in constable Tomar’s case, which includes a member of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party.