Babu Lal Bairwa allegedly hanged himself in a police outpost, leading to protests by Dalit rights groups
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Family members of a Dalit policeman, whose body was found hanging inside a police outpost under the Bhankrota police station of Jaipur in Rajasthan, have alleged that the deceased committed suicide after being harassed by three senior police officers and a journalist.
Babu Lal Bairwa, who served the Rajasthan police force for more than two decades, allegedly hanged himself in the outpost on Thursday (22 August), leading to protests by Dalit rights groups.
According to reports, Bairwa left his home Thursday morning to work at the Bhankrota police station but was later found hanging inside the police outpost.
His family members claim receiving a call from some friends of the deceased informing them that he had posted a suicide note in their WhatsApp group.
“A fellow officer called us to say that my father had posted a suicide note in their WhatsApp group and they are currently searching for him. Later, they discovered that he had hanged himself inside the police outpost,” Tanuj, Bairwa’s son, was quoted in local media as saying.
In the note, Bairwa addressed his son, advising him to stay strong, while expressing despair and acknowledging that he could no longer bear his circumstances. He also named three police officers and a journalist whom he accused of harassment, reports reaching here said on Tuesday.
Bairwa claimed that he and a few other police officers were suspended last year due to a land dispute, and he believed that he was targeted and mistreated by these individuals.
An FIR was filed based on the complaint by Bairwa’s son, stating that his father had been under pressure for the past year because of ACP Anil Sharma, Additional SP Jagdish Vyas, Sub-Inspector Aashutosh Singh, and journalist Kamal Degda. These officials allegedly harassed Bairwa, causing him immense mental stress. The family has demanded the arrest of the three police officials and the journalist mentioned in the suicide note, as well as a job for one family member.
On Monday, the Dalit activists protested outside SMS Hospital mortuary for the fourth day. Meena Devi, the wife, and Tanuj released a video stating that they would take action if a post-mortem was conducted without their consent.
Jaipur police have handed over the investigation to a senior official and are examining the contents of Bairwa’s suicide note.
The land dispute case dates back to August 8, 2023. The police arrested one party under Section 151 and gave possession of the land to the other party.
Later, the arrested party filed a report, which was confirmed during the investigation. Bhankrota’s former SHO, Chainaram, ASI Surendra, and Head Constable Bairwa were suspended. The departmental inquiry into the matter is still pending at police headquarters.
Head Constable Bairwa was reinstated in January and was transferred to the Crime Branch at the DCP West office. For two weeks, he had been visiting Bhankrota police station to hand over the charge of the maalkhana (property room).
On Thursday, the deceased shared a six-page suicide note with friends and colleagues before hanging himself at the outpost, while overseeing items related to the maalkhana.
In the suicide note, he wrote about suffering harassment for 11 months. He mentioned that due to the false suspension, society and relatives treated him as if he had committed a murder. He also requested a CBI investigation into the three cases related to his suspension.
Furthermore, he asked for his five months of pending salary to be given to his children and requested a job for his son Tanuj in any position.
