Moga cop shoots self at police post, SHO booked for abetting suicide

An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) in Punjab’s Moga district allegedly shot himself in the head at the Lopon police post on Monday, officials said.

ASI Satnam Singh (50) was rushed to Moga Civil Hospital where he succumbed. Before shooting himself, the ASI sent a suicide note on WhatsApp to his wife Gurdeep Kaur, in which he blamed his senior sub-inspector and Badhni Kalan SHO Karamjit Singh for the extreme step, accusing the SHO of demanding Rs 50,000 from him.

Based on Kaur’s complaint, an FIR was filed against SHO Singh under IPC Section 306 (abetment to suicide) at Badhni Kalan police station.

In the FIR, Kaur claimed that SHO Singh was constantly harassing her husband, demanding Rs 50,000 from him and forcing to take a bribe in a case. On Monday morning, Kaur said the ASI called her and said he was going to commit suicide. She said that her husband informed her and their son Gurpreet about the extreme step and they tried to counsel him on phone but he did not listen. They rushed to Lopon police post, where they were told that he had shot himself in the head and was taken to Civil Hospital, where he died.

Later, she produced a suicide note which she said that her husband had sent her on WhatsApp before shooting himself and in which he blamed SHO for the extreme step.

Nihal Singh Wala town DSP Parsan Singh said that the ASI shot himself in his room inside Lopon police post. “The suicide note which he sent on his wife’s WhatsApp says that the SHO was forcing him to take bribe of Rs 50,000 in a case and give the amount to him. We are probing the case. He shot himself with his service weapon in his head. SHO is yet to be arrested,” the DSP said.