Hotelier guns down member of PWD team on demolition drive in Kasauli

SOLAN: A Kasauli hotelier, Vijay Singh, shot dead Shailbala Sharma, 51, an assistant town planner of Solan district, when her team reached his premises on Tuesday to demolish illegal construction on the orders of the Supreme Court, police said.

Sharma was shot in the back and died on the spot, they said, adding another PWD worker, Gulab Singh, was injured and is undergoing treatment at Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh.

Four teams led by town and country planning officers had reached Kasauli to raze unauthorised construction.

When the team, led by Sharma, entered Narayani Guest House, its owner Vijay asked them to keep off his property.

The team began the demolition drive following which he opened fire, police said.

He managed to flee despite the presence of five police officers.

Superintendent of police Khushal Sharma said, “A case has been registered. We have launched a hunt for Singh.”

Meanwhile, some hoteliers in Kasauli have begun pulling down illegal structures.