Family members have alleged that he was mentally tortured by the DRI, and had lodged a complaint with the police. (Representational)
The Delhi High Court Thursday issued a notice to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) over the death of a 40-year-old jeweller, who jumped from the sixth floor of the DRI visitor’s room at CGO complex Wednesday. The court’s order came after a plea was filed by his mother, seeking a CBI probe and an autopsy by an AIIMS medical board, stating that her son died in “suspicious circumstances”.
Gaurav Gupta, a Delhi-based jeweller, went to the DRI office Wednesday in connection with a purported gold smuggling case, according to an official statement. The mother, in her plea, had also said that she received a call from DRI officials, demanding Rs 1.5 crore if she wanted to save her son from any torture.
Justice Mukta Gupta also directed DCP (south) to get a medical board constituted at AIIMS, and get Gupta’s autopsy conducted. The court also asked police to preserve the CCTV footage of Gupta’s shop and the DRI office or nearby areas, if available.
Gupta’s family members have alleged that he was mentally tortured by the DRI, and had lodged a complaint with the police. Gaurav’s wife, Stuti Gupta, who has written a letter to SHO, Shalimar Bagh, asked the police to take stringent action against a DRI official and his team, who she alleged, murdered her husband. “They humiliated him after abusing him in front of all the family members, including our children, when they raided our home. My husband was innocent, but they mentally tortured him. They killed my husband and action should be taken against them,” she said.
Gupta stayed with his family at Shalimar Bagh and has two children. “My husband had a good image in our locality. When they first raided our home, they did not tell us the reason and did not inform anyone as to where they were taking my husband and father-in-law. My husband requested them to allow me to go with him, but they did not listen. The officials assured us that they would be released after some legal proceedings…,” she alleged.
The DRI said Gupta’s house in Shalimar Bagh was raided on April 24 and 25, and 41 kg foreign-marked gold, 213 kg silver bullion and Rs 48 lakh in cash were seized. The estimated amount of the total seizure stood at Rs 13 crore. Following the raids, Gupta had visited the DRI office with his father, police said.