Kasauli demolition drive resumes
DAY AFTER MURDER Dog squad, five dozen cops comb nearby forests to catch hotelier on the run
KASAULI: A day after a woman government official involved in a demolition drive in Himachal Pradesh’s Kasauli town was shot dead allegedly by a hotelier, civic authorities relaunched the operation even as a full-fledged police team began its hunt for the suspect on Wednesday afternoon.
Vijay Singh had allegedly shot Shail Bala Sharma, an assistant town planner, after a heated argument on Tuesday afternoon. The demolition work was being carried out in adherence to a recent Supreme Court order.
People familiar with the developments said hotel owners have now begun pulling down unauthorised extensions on their own accord. Armed policemen have been deployed at the residence of Singh, also a Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited employee, who absconded after the incident.
Meanwhile, over five dozen policemen and a dog squad began combing nearby forests for the suspect Wednesday morning. “We have pasted posters bearing the suspect’s image at various locations,” said Solan superintendent of police Mohit Chawla.
A policeman said the demoli- tion drive had been temporarily halted after the incident. “As other workers were scared, the district administration held a meeting with police,” he added.
“The drive has begun now,” confirmed Solan sub-divisional magistrate Ashutosh Garg. On Wednesday, a joint team in the presence of Solan deputy commissioner Vinod Kumar; director, town and country planning, Rajeshwar Goel; and SP Chawla demolished unauthorised portion of six hotels on the Kasauli road and the ShimlaChandigarh National Highway. More than 100 armed officers were deployed. “The drive will continue on Thursday as planned earlier. Four teams will conduct the drive and they would be provided police security,” said Goel.
A post-mortem of Sharma’s body was conducted at the Indira Gandhi Medical College in Shimla earlier in the day, and preparations are on to transport it to her hometown in Mandi district for cremation.
Gulab Singh, a PWD worker who was also injured in the shooting, is being kept under observation at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh.
Meanwhile, other hoteliers have expressed willingness to pull down their authorised structures. “I condemn this incident. Such things should not happen. Though we were not heard properly, we are ready to demolish portions identified by the department,” said DJ Bhandari, owner of Pioneer Hotel.
The demolition drive arose from an April 17 directive by the Supreme Court that gave hotel owners 15 days to demolish unauthorised structures on their premises.
They were also told to deposit fines of up to ~15 lakh each.
Noting that some hoteliers had constructed six-storey buildings despite permission for only twostoreys, a bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said: “You just demolish it (unauthorised constructions). What is going on? You are admitting that you were supposed to make only two-storied buildings. There was a landslide on your premises and you did nothing. You are putting the lives of people in danger (just for money).”