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‘Not killed in cross-firing’: Uttarakhand police rebuts UP cops on woman’s death
Gurjeet Kaur, 28, died late on Wednesday a little after a team of UP police barged into the farmhouse in the district’s Bharatpur village on a lead that Mohammed Jafar, who has a ₹50,000 on his arrest and was wanted in cases relating to illegal sand mining, was hiding there
DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand police on Friday contested claims by Uttar Pradesh Police that Gurjeet Kaur, wife of a Bharatiya Janata Party leader (BJP) died in cross-firing, saying their forensic team hasn’t been able to find any evidence of cross-firing at the family’s farmhouse in Udham Singh Nagar district.
Gurjeet Kaur, 28, died late on Wednesday a little after a team of UP police barged into the farmhouse in the district’s Bharatpur village on a lead that Mohammed Jafar, who has a ₹50,000 on his arrest and was wanted in cases relating to illegal sand mining, was hiding on the sprawling farmhouse. The UP police insisted that villagers fired at its police team which was in plain clothes, and they retaliated.
“We have found no evidence of cross-firing during our investigation…. There were no bullet marks on walls and vehicles,” a senior Uttarakhand police officer said.
To be sure, the officer conceded that the bullet that is suspected to have killed her was not lodged in her body but passed through. And the Uttarakhand police or its forensic experts have not been able to locate it either. This would be crucial to determine if Bhullar was killed by the UP police.
Three service pistols and 9mm empty cartridges have been recovered from the crime scene, said an official, adding that these have been sent for ballistic tests. The woman’s post-mortem report is awaited.
A UP police officer trashed the Uttarakhand police claim, asking how two members of the UP police team sustained bullet injuries if there was no firing from the other side. “Jafar and his associates, who were trying to protect him, attacked our team and opened fire on them. Our six police personnel sustained injuries and two of them have bullet wounds. How can they sustain injuries without any exchange of fire?” said senior superintendent of police (Moradabad ), Hemant Kutiyal.
The death of the BJP leader’s wife has pitted the police forces of two neighbouring states ruled by the BJP against each other.
Both Udham Singh Nagar (Uttarakhand) and Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh) police have filed cases over the incident; both parties presented a different account of the incident.
The Uttarakhand police filed a case against 10-12 unidentified UP policemen for Gurjeet Kaur’s murder, while UP police have filed an FIR against sand mafia Jaffar and 30-35 unidentified people at the Thakurdwara police station under penal provisions relating to rioting, attempt to murder, criminal conspiracy, dacoity and use of criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty.
“It would only be clear who fired the shot that killed Gurjeet Kaur after the post-mortem report and forensic results,” said senior superintendent of police (US Nagar), Manjunath TC.
Another official familiar with the matter said Kaur was hit in the chest from a close range.
“We are probing the case from all angles and taking into consideration the accounts of both parties. The victim’s family can say that she was shot by the UP police. However, it’s a fact that two UP police personnel also sustained bullet injuries,” he added.
DIG (Kumaon) Nilesh Anand Bharne said it would take around 15 days to establish who fired the shot.
