Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday directed the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DLSA) to file a victim impact assessment report in the suicide case of Dr. Rajender Singh. Based on this report and the affidavits of the convicts, the court will determine the amount of compensation to the victims.
Delhi State Legal Services Authority
Special Judge Kaveri Baweja instructed the Secretary of the DLSA to submit a victim impact assessment report.
The court has scheduled the case for July 9 to hear arguments regarding the sentencing of the convicts. Jarwal and other convicts have filed their affidavits detailing their assets and income.
On February 28, the court convicted AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal and his associate Kapil Nagar for abetting a doctor’s suicide. They were also found guilty of criminal conspiracy for extortion and threatening the deceased, Dr. Rajender Singh, who was involved in water supply through tankers.
Guilty
The court found Prakash Jarwal and Kapil Nagar guilty of abetment to suicide, extortion, attempted extortion, criminal intimidation, and criminal conspiracy for extortion. The third accused, Harish Jarwal, was convicted of criminal intimidation.
Prosecution Successfully Proven the Allegations
The court stated that the prosecution had successfully proven the allegations beyond reasonable doubt. Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Manish Rawat represented the Delhi police.
On November 11, 2021, the court framed charges against Prakash Jarwal, Kapil Nagar, and Harish Jarwal under various sections of the IPC. The court found prima facie evidence against Prakash Jarwal and Kapil Nagar for offences under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with Sections 386 (punishment for extortion), 384 (extortion), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 306/34 IPC (abetment to suicide).
Harish Jarwal was discharged for the offences under Sections 306 and 386 IPC but was charged under Section 506 IPC.
Complaint Filed by Victims’ Son
An FIR was registered based on a complaint dated April 18, 2020, by Hemant Singh. He stated that his late father, Dr. Rajender Singh, had been supplying water through tankers since 2005 and was never harassed by the Delhi Jal Board. However, after Prakash Jarwal became an MLA, he, along with Kapil Nagar and others, began harassing his father for money.
It was alleged that Kapil Nagar, at Prakash Jarwal’s behest, collected monthly payments for Jarwal. Prakash Jarwal, a member of the Delhi Jal Board, would not allow their tankers to operate without these payments. When Dr. Rajender Singh resisted paying, his tankers were removed from the Delhi Jal Board’s operations. He complained to the Executive Engineer of the Delhi Jal Board on April 9, 2020.
The complainant stated that his father pleaded with Prakash Jarwal to stop the harassment, as he was a heart patient, but Jarwal persisted. They had a phone recording of these threats. Dr. Rajender Singh had documented the mental harassment and payments made to Prakash Jarwal in his diary.
It was further alleged that due to this exploitation and pressure, Dr. Rajender Singh remained distressed. He sold ancestral land and took a loan on his wife’s jewelry to meet the demands, as evidenced by receipts. This money was given to Kapil Nagar at the behest of Prakash Jarwal.
