E-Paper
Mohali cop who fired at man amid scuffle suspended
A three-member special investigation team was also constituted to investigate the incident that took place on Haibatpur Road, Dera Bassi, in Mohali district on Sunday night
The Mohali police on Tuesday suspended sub-inspector Balwinder Singh, in-charge of the Mubarikpur police post, for shooting at a man during a scuffle with him and his aides on Haibatpur Road, Dera Bassi, on Sunday night.
A three-member special investigation team (SIT) was also constituted to investigate the incident.
“Though the victim has not yet given a statement and no FIR has been lodged in the case, sub-inspector Balwinder Singh has been suspended for firing the gunshots. An SIT has also been constituted to investigate the matter further and if Singh is not found guilty, the decision will be revoked,” said Vivek Sheel Soni, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Mohali.
The SIT team comprises superintendent of police (Headquarters) Ravinder Pal Singh, Dera Bassi deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Gurbakshish Singh and DSP (Mullanpur) Amarpreet Singh.
The victim, Hitesh, is still undergoing treatment at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, Chandigarh, and remains medically unfit for a statement.
The action came after a video of the incident came to fore on Monday. While the victim and his friends were unarmed, the SI can be seen firing the shot at Hitesh’s leg. The SI then went on to drag Hitesh’s sister and push her to the road. She also attained injuries in the incident and was admitted at GMCH.
According to police, a team from the Mubarikpur police post, led by the SI, was patrolling around 10.45 pm on Haibatpur Road, when they stopped Tarn Taran resident Akshay and his fiancee for checking on suspicion.
When asked to hand over his bag for checking, Akshay had reportedly resisted and misbehaved with the cops, and his fiancee had summoned her sister and brother Hitesh, who had showed up at the spot with his friends.
The group allegedly started misbehaving with the police team and also vandalised their vehicle with bricks and stones. Police said SI Singh then fired a gunshot in self-defence that hit Hitesh’s leg. However, Hitesh had claimed that the SI was under the influence of alcohol and was harassing his sister, and opened fire when he and his friends opposed his behaviour.
