Family disputes police finding that Chhattisgarh constable died by suicide

The family of a Chhattisgarh Armed Force constable has rejected police’s initial finding that he died by suicide and alleged that he was murdered. Constable Vijendra Thakur, 40, died on September 30 at Sendra Camp in the Farsegarh police station area of Bijapur district, according to a police statement issued on Friday. Police said their initial investigation indicated that he had shot himself with his service rifle.

An accidental death report was registered at Farsegarh police station, and the matter was being investigated, police said. The source material does not give further details about the weapon, the scene or evidence supporting the initial conclusion. Thakur’s family, from Devnagar village in Surajpur district, disputed the police account.

Relatives and local residents held a protest in the Ramanujnagar development block on Friday morning. Thakur’s wife, Sarita, told journalists that her husband was not someone who would take his own life. She said she had spoken to him on the night of September 29 and noticed nothing unusual in his behaviour.

According to Sarita, Thakur spoke normally and asked about their children and parents. She said she had asked how he was but had not observed anything that caused concern. His father, Lalji Thakur, said policemen had told him that his son had shot himself.

The family’s allegation of murder has not been substantiated in the material supplied, and police have not publicly announced a revised finding. The case remains under investigation. The source material does not report whether an independent inquiry, forensic examination or post-mortem has been ordered.

It also gives no official response to the family’s protest beyond the police statement describing the initial conclusion.