Arrested DRDO scientist tries to kill himself, admitted to AIIMS

DRDO scientist Bharat Bhushan Kataria, who was arrested by the Delhi Police's Special Cell in connection with the December 9 Rohini Court blast, tried to consume some poisonous substance while he was in police custody, sources said. He has been admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

New Delhi:The scientist who was recently arrested in the Rohini blast case allegedly attenmpted suicide while in police cutody on Sunday. The police informed that sources that he tried to kill himself by consuming hand wash in the bathroom of the police station, where he was being interrogated.

The accused, Bharat Bhushan Kataria, is a DRDO scientist and was arrested for allegedly planting an improvised tiffin bomb in the Rohini District Court on December 9. The investigation in the bomb blast had revealed that he had planted the bomb with an intention to harm his neighbor, who was present at the court premises on the day of the blast.

After his arrest on Friday, Kataria was being interrogated by the Delhi Police Special Cell, and hence was in the police custody since that day.

The accused allegedly attempted suicide on Sunday, and was found lying unconscious on the bathroom floor after he drank the hand wash there. When asked, he tried to mislead the officials by saying that it is a minor stomach ache and vomiting case. He was however rushed to the Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital and to AIIMS thereafter, as informed by a senior police official.

"He is being treated at AIIMS and is completely stable. All his vitals are normal. A senior doctor will be checking on him tomorrow (Monday) and he is expected to be discharged. He will be interrogated soon," the officer added.

The officer also said that the accused had prepared himself in advance on how to evade questioning in case he gets caught. "He is misleading and manipulating the investigation team by evading questioning. He is uncooperative and using all that he has studied about the system to avoid interrogation," he added.

The Improvised Explosive Device planted by the accused had triggered a low-intensity explosion in courtroom number 102, injuring Naib Court head constable Rajeev. Fortunately, the explosive wasn't properly assembled, due to which only the detonator exploded, the police informed.