Cop's daughter ends life over shoplifting allegations; mart owner among 3 booked

Koriya: A 17-year-old girl, the daughter of a police constable, allegedly died by suicide in Chhattisgarh’s Koriya district after a shopping mart owner accused her of stealing cosmetics, seized her scooter and allegedly demanded money for its return.Police have booked three shop owners on charges including abetment of suicide, extortion and robbery, while the incident triggered protests by relatives of police personnel demanding swift action.The Class XI student was found hanging in the kitchen of her home in the Police Lines area under Baikunthpur police station limits on Wednesday afternoon, police said.According to officials, the teenager had gone to IC Mart at Sanjay Chowk with her younger sister on July 7 to buy household items.The mart owner allegedly accused the sisters of attempting to steal cosmetic products, even though they had not left the store.Police said the sisters were allegedly forced to write and sign a statement admitting to the theft, following which the shop owners confiscated the scooter they had arrived on.The owner allegedly told the sisters that the vehicle would only be returned after money was paid.Officials said the girl did not inform her family about the incident but confided in an assistant sub-inspector known to her.

The ASI later contacted the mart owner and asked him to return the scooter.However, the owner allegedly claimed that the vehicle had been sent elsewhere and could be collected the next morning.The girl's father, constable Shivnath Singh Paikra, said he visited the store on Wednesday morning after learning about the incident and alleged that the shop owner demanded Rs 50,000 for returning the scooter.Paikra said that while he had gone to receive his wife at a bus stand on Wednesday afternoon, his daughter allegedly took the extreme step at home."The girl went into depression after being accused of theft and being pressured over the scooter. She could not tell her father because she was afraid she would be scolded. The mart owner had no authority to confiscate the scooter or act on his own instead of informing the police," Koriya Superintendent of Police Ravi Kumar Kurre said.Police have registered a case against IC Mart owners Deepak Vaid, Vinod Vaid and Jagat Vaid under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.The accused have been booked on charges including abetment of suicide of a child, extortion, robbery and obscene acts, among other offences.Police said the supermarket has been sealed, while a cyber forensic team has examined CCTV footage and collected evidence from the premises.The incident sparked protests by family members of police personnel, who gathered outside Baikunthpur police station and later blocked a road for nearly 30 minutes, demanding the immediate arrest of the accused.(With PTI inputs)