‘Chinese spy, kleptomaniac’ — no end to mystery around death of retd Army officer in Tihar

Mukesh Chopra allegedly committed suicide on 7 November in Tihar Jail. Central intelligence agencies are probing if he was part of a Chinese spy ring.

Retired Indian Army Captain Mukesh Chopra died in Tihar Jail on 7 November | Image: ThePrint.in

New Delhi: Investigators probing the mysterious death of a retired Indian Army captain in Tihar jail suspect that he may have been part of a Chinese spy ring.

Captain Mukesh Chopra (retd) was detained from the high security Manekshaw Centre in the heart of Delhi Cantonment on 1 November, later arrested by the Delhi Police and then allegedly committed suicide in Tihar Jail on 7 November.

Four mobile phones recovered from his possession are being scrutinised by intelligence agencies. Initially, the case was being handled at the level of the local police station, but was later transferred to the Delhi Police Special Cell. Sources say central security agencies are the ones actually handling the case.

The Indian Express had reported that Chopra was suspected to have Chinese links and the agencies are focusing on this aspect.

A senior police officer told ThePrint that the police have already questioned a retired officer of the Research & Analysis Wing who had booked him into an official guest house. This former officer told the authorities that he knew Chopra because their children were friends in the US.

Chopra’s family, meanwhile, has alleged that his death was “murder”, and said they will file a complaint seeking an investigation.

Official version of the case

According to the FIR registered by the Delhi Police on 2 November, Chopra entered the Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), the Army’s think tank, at Parade Ground in Delhi Cantonment, on 1 November, and left the premises after 30 to 40 minutes.

The CLAWS librarian later found some books missing, and after checking CCTV footage, it was found that Chopra had carried them out inside a newspaper.

Chopra was later found attending a CLAWS seminar at Manekshaw Centre, where he was confronted by a colonel and the stolen books were recovered.

The books listed in the FIR were all related to China but none were secret — China’s Defence Policy: Indian Perspective, Strategic Perspective; Beyond NJ 9842: The Siachen Saga, Paper Tigers: China’s Nuclear Posture; CLAWS Manekshaw Paper numbers 54, 63 and 72, etc.

Chopra was handed over to the local police, in accordance with norms. He was later sentenced to judicial custody in Tihar Jail, where he allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the first floor of a building.

Army’s version — ‘detained by chance’

According to multiple sources in the military establishment, there was no intelligence about the retired captain. A senior Army officer told ThePrint that a serving colonel found Chopra walking around suspiciously with a large number of books.

“The colonel was suspicious and hence walked over to Chopra for a chat. He asked for his identification and Chopra identified himself as a colonel. When further questions were asked, there was an argument between the two,” the officer said.

Seeing this commotion, a retired brigadier walked up and sought the identity of Chopra. Finally a retired major general rank officer intervened, and it was decided that Military Police needed to be called in because Chopra was not an invitee to the seminar and he had stolen books from the library.

“The Military Police handed him over to the local police with a complaint of theft and trespassing. It was by chance that he was detained,” the officer explained.

Army sources said their role ended with his being handed over to the local police.

On subsequent verification of Army records, it was found that Chopra was a captain from the parachute regiment, and had taken a “mutually agreed” premature retirement after a complaint was lodged against him while he was on an official tour.

Chopra was interrogated jointly by personnel from the Delhi Police and Military Intelligence, sources said, and when they felt there was “something more” to look into, the interrogators decided to rope in central intelligence agencies.

The Army is also looking into the security system at both CLAWS and the Manekshaw Centre because they see it as a security breach, since an individual was able to get in with an ex-serviceman card and no invitation for the seminar.

A kleptomaniac?

Chopra’s lawyer Deepak Tyagi claimed he was a kleptomaniac, and had over 100 complaints filed against him in Canada, even for things like eggs and bread. Details are being produced through Chopra’s daughter Natasha, who is still in Canada.

Tyagi pointed out that if Chopra was a spy, he wouldn’t have been kept in an open ward in Tihar Jail, and instead, there would have been extra security.

Chopra’s brother, Colonel Rangesh Chopra (retd), however, denied any claims that his brother was a kleptomaniac, saying then he couldn’t have been in the Army.

Colonel Chopra said he learnt of his brother’s arrest only after he got a call from the Delhi Cantonment police at 7pm on 1 November. “Before that, Mukesh’s friends were calling me up to enquire about him, as he was to take them out for dinner to Delhi Gymkhana Club that evening,” he said.

Death raises more questions

Tihar Jail authorities told ThePrint that Capt. Chopra committed suicide by jumping off the first floor of a building. However, they could not explain how a person died after jumping down just one floor.

Chopra’s family said he and other prisoners were going for counselling at around 10 am on 7 November when he fell off the stairs. He sustained a severe head injury and was rushed to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, where the CT scan machine was not working. They brought him back to Tihar Jail. When he started feeling uneasy, he was rushed to Safdarjung Hospital where he died, Colonel Chopra said.

The retired colonel said not enough medical attention was given to his brother, and added that he was told by a woman judge at the mortuary Wednesday evening that there was a huge bend in the stairs at Tihar Jail, where his brother fell.

“There were seven inmates in his ward where he was kept on the request of the American Embassy, but when they were being taken for counselling, they weren’t escorted by the prison official and realised that the seventh inmate was missing. My brother had fallen into the pit. No CT scan was done,” the colonel added.

However, police officers maintained that there was no negligence, and the victim was immediately rushed to the hospital for medical assistance within half an hour.