Kasauli woman officer’s murder: Accused arrested from Mathura. (File)
Vijay Singh, accused in the Kasauli murder case, who was arrested in UP Thursday, was brought to the town Friday and produced in the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Yuzvinder Singh who remanded him in police custody for five days. Also, the police Friday recovered a revolver, which Singh used to allegedly kill Assistant Town Planner Shail Bala during a demolition drive undertaken to enforce a Supreme Court order on May 1. He was taken to the court under tight security. The prosecution counsel informed media persons outside the court that police wanted to recover the murder weapon and interrogate him.
Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Solan, Shiv Kumar, who will also be officiating as SP, said they recovered the weapon within a few hours after his remand.” “Initially, he tried to give excuses about the wherebouts of the weapon, but eventually he led a police party to the jungle where he had hidden the revolver,” Kumar said. Kumar added he has admitted to the police having fired at the woman officer in a fit of rage when she did not agree to his plea not to demolish a portion of his guest house.””The theory about she having been offered a bribe by him is not true”” said the ASP.
Kumar added he is changing statements very frequently and that they are cross-checking every fact he narrated.
Dinesh Malhotra, Divisional Commmissioner, Shimla,who is heading a high-level inquiry into the firing incident and failure of the police, visited the spot and summoned records related to police deployments on May 1. He has also been asked to look into the facts as how Singh managed to escape despite police presence.
“I have just visited the place and met a few people. A formal inquiry has begun. I will submit a report within 15 days”” he said. Realising that the woman had died, he ran towards a thickly vegetated area, covering a distance of 6 km.
According to police sources, he spent an entire day and night hiding in the forest. Around 2 am the next day, he took a bus up to Chandigarh and he tried for a taxi to reach Delhi. He stopped using his mobile phone. It was, however, one phone call he had made to an acquaintance to seek help and borrow some money that gave the police some clues about his movements. The accused had brought new clothes in Mathura. Later, Singh had got his moustache shaved and hair trimmed in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area.
Mohit Chawla, who was shifted as SP, Solan, on Thursday night said the arrest was part of a joint operation with Delhi police. The cracking of the case by his arrest has certainly helped the police to make a headway after the accused had given the police the slip. There were definitely some lapses,” he said. On his transfer, Chawla said it’s the government’s decision. “But the incident was unfortunate. I am happy having relinquished the charge after the accused is caught,” he said.