Demolition of illegal constructions in Kasauli continues

A day after the firing incident near Kasauli in which a woman government official was killed after being allegedly shot by the son of a guest-house owner while she was supervising demolition of unauthorised constructions, the Himachal Pradesh Police is still clueless about the whereabouts of the accused even as his mother said, “My son lost mental balance as he couldn’t bear to see the guest house being pulled down.”

“I'll commit suicide, he (Vijay Singh, the accused) said to me soon after the incident as he left the spot in hurry,” Narayani Devi, the mother, told The Hindu. She added, “He was just asking for more time from them (the officials) to vacate, but all his requests were in vain.”

Acting on the Supreme Court’s order, the Himachal Pradesh government had started a drive to demolish the unauthorised construction of 13 hotels which fall in Kasauli town planning.

On Tuesday, the Assistant Town and Country Planner Shail Bala was heading one of the four teams that were constituted to demolish illegal constructions. While she was supervising the sealing process at the Narayani Guest House on the Dharampur-Kasauli road, the guest house owner’s son Vijay Singh, after an altercation, open fire, resulting in Shail Bala’s death.

State of shock

The neighbours of Vijay Singh, 54, who is employed with the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB), are also in a state of shock. “It is difficult to imagine that he could commit such a crime. We know the family very well. I don’t know what made him take such a step,” said Mrs. Bindu, a neighbour. While the demolition process continued at the spot of the crime on Wednesday, the police, facing criticism for not being able to protect employees on government duty, deployed two additional battalions to ensure that no untoward incident was repeated.

Superintendent of Police Mohit Chawla said the police were taken by surprise at the incident. “In fact the team was facing problem with the owner of an adjoining hotel. Vijay Singh, on the contrary, had expressed consent to cooperate,” he said. “Search operation is underway. Our teams, including a dog squad, are out in the forest.”

We have announced a cash reward of ₹1 Lakh on him,” said Mr. Chawla, adding that a case under sections 302, 307 of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of Arms Act have been registered.