Himachal Congress activist shot dead in Haroli on Punjab border

Search on for four motorcycle-borne assailants who attacked Ravinder Kumar Sethi when he was walking with his nephew near Dulehar sports stadium

Four assailants shot dead a businessman and local Congress worker at Dulehar in Haroli sub division of Una district on Monday night.

Leader of opposition in HP Mukesh Agnihotri with family members and locals outside RH, Una on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

The victim, Ravinder Kumar Sethi, 40, and his nephew Keshav Sharma, 17, were walking near the Dulehar sports stadium when four men arrived on two motorcycles and fired two shots at them around 7 pm, Una superintendent of police (SP) Arjit Sen Thakur said on Tuesday. Sethi was the general secretary of the Haroli Block Congress and is survived by his wife and two children.

Keshav retaliated by throwing stones at the assailants. They attacked him and fled, leaving him injured.

Sethi and Keshav were rushed to a Dulehar hospital from where they were referred to the Regional Hospital at Una. Sethi was declared brought dead by the doctors while Keshav is still under treatment at a hospital in Dulehar.

Haroli MLA and leader of opposition Mukesh Agnihotri met the family of the victims in hospital.

He expressed concern over the law and order in the state under the BJP government.

2 detained, 8 police teams formed to nab culprits

Addressing the press on Tuesday, the SP said that the police had rounded up eight people from a village in Hoshiarpur and two were detained on the bases of suspicion for further questioning.

The SP said eight teams led by different officers were raiding various places in Punjab and Una to nab the culprits.

“Himachal Pradesh’s director general of police (DGP) also called up his Punjab counterpart, and he has assured of full cooperation. I am also in regular contact with SSP Hoshiarpur,” he said.

Thakur said the assailants fled towards Polian on the Punjab border, and police have got an initial idea of their movement.

“As soon as there was further update, we will inform the public and the media,” he said.

Tragedy takes political overtones

Meanwhile, the tragedy has taken political overtones as the Leader of Opposition in the state Mukesh Agnihotri demanded a judicial probe into Sethi’s murder and also the death of five Youth Congress workers in a road accident in Haroli on Sunday.

Earlier, in the morning the family members of the deceased and locals staged a protest outside the RH, Una, and had heated arguments with the health officials over the delay in the post-mortem of the victim.

Agnihotri also joined the protest. The family members alleged that the health official on Monday had assured them that the post-mortem will be done today morning.

However, in the morning the health officials cited a lack of facility and said that the post-mortem will be done at Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda, alleged Agnihotri.

The protestors demanded that the post-mortem be done at RH, Una, as the family had made all the preparations for the cremation. The deadlock ended after the health department authorities accepted their demand.

“The law-and-order situation is at its lowest ebb under the BJP regime. There seems a conspiracy behind such incidents. The death of five youth Congress workers in road accidents also seems to be a well-planned murder. The government should order a judicial probe into these incidents,” he said.