Police chief laid to rest following suicide

BİNGÖL/HAKKARİ

Former Interior Minister Abdülkadir Aksu (2nd L) joins the funeral ceremony of Çağlar San, who worked in his security team during Aksu’s post. AA photo

The police chief of the eastern province of Tunceli’s Hozat district, Çağlar San, was laid to rest yesterday after committing suicide Nov. 24 in his house by shooting himself in the head amid an investigation regarding an on illegal recording case.

San had been in charge of the police in Hozat for five months. His funeral was held yesterday in Istanbul following an autopsy. The police directorate announced that San’s death was a suicide, according to initial inspections.

Illegal records

It was revealed on Nov. 17 that police and gendarmerie forces in the eastern province of Tunceli had been keeping records of citizens suspected of maintaining links to a variety of organizations. According to previous allegations, the Hozat police force and gendarmerie commandership were tasked with collecting the personal data of hundreds of local people, including the district mayor.

The information collected included addresses, phone numbers, hair and eye colors, as well as the illegal organizations the citizens were thought to support.The files - which the police, gendarmerie and local governor’s office each had a copy of - also included a photograph of the suspected individual.

Hozat Mayor Cevdet Konak, a number of officials from the Education Directorate, school principals, courthouse officials and a 77-year-old man were among those being closely followed by the security forces, according to the files.The news received fierce condemnation from locals, who held a march to protest the records on Nov. 20. Two inspectors are investigating the incident.