‘Accused tried to give bribe to official, killed her in fit of rage’
DHARAMPUR (SOLAN): The hotel owner accused of killing a woman officer leading a demolition drive against illegal constructions in Himachal Pradesh’s Kasauli town has said he shot her “out of anger” after she refused to accept a bribe, people familiar with the development said on Friday. However, SP Shiv Kumar, refused to confirm.
Vijay Singh, a Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited employee, allegedly chased and shot at assistant town and country planner Shail Bala Sharma after an argument over the demolition of the unauthorised construction in his Narayani Guest House after a recent Supreme Court order.
“I requested the authority to spare my building but the team had one point agenda to demolish the building,” Singh was quoted as saying by a police officer, who is a part of the interrogation team.
Singh was arrested on Thursday in a joint operation by Himachal Pradesh and Delhi Police in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh.
He had shaved off his moustache and got a haircut to conceal his identity, police said.
He was brought to Dharampur police station and interrogated for six hours, officials said.
Solan’s former SP Mohit Chawla, who has been transferred to the police headquarters in Shimla, reached Dharampur police station at 12pm to complete the paperwork before Singh was produced in a local court.