25 yrs on, Bulandshahr police yet to file chargesheet in murder case!

Senior superintendent of police, Bulandshahr, Shlok Kumar said a thorough investigation into the case was currently underway

Bulandshahr police in Uttar Pradesh are on their toes these days after it came to fore that the police there were yet to file a chargesheet in an over 25-year-old murder case, following which the district judge’s court of the said district directed the police earlier this month to file the chargesheet.

Lakkhi Singh, 62 then, was allegedly murdered over a property dispute by his brother’s grandson Kailash Chand, a resident of Futa Kuan locality, on March 8, 1999. (For Representation)

Confirming it, senior superintendent of police, Bulandshahr, Shlok Kumar said a thorough investigation into the case was currently underway.

Lakkhi Singh, 62 then, was allegedly murdered over a property dispute by his brother’s grandson Kailash Chand, a resident of Futa Kuan locality, on March 8, 1999, according to the complaint filed by Singh’s son Vijaypal soon after the crime.

The police later recovered a pistol from the accused and registered a case against him under the Arms Act. He was subsequently sent to judicial custody but was released on bail after a few days.

While the police completed their investigation and filed a chargesheet in the Arms Act case in 1999, the murder chargesheet was never presented in the court, claimed Kailash Chand’s lawyer Dolly Sharma.

Following the court orders now, the police are searching for the documents related to the case. The issue came to light recently when Bulandshahr district judge Manjeet Singh Sheoran was hearing the Arms Act case.

Expressing displeasure over the negligence of Kotwali police, the court ordered filing of the chargesheet. The revelation has caused a stir within the police department, prompting an internal inquiry.

Officials are struggling to explain as to why the chargesheet was never submitted to the court. Meanwhile, complainant Vijaypal, 50, also passed away last year. Now, no counsel has been representing the complainant in the court for the last one year.

On the other hand, Dolly Sharma, the counsel for the accused, has claimed that her client has been suffering due to police inefficiency without being proven guilty.

“He (the accused who is 53 now) continues to attend court hearings related to the Arms Act case, while the murder case has not even reached the trial stage,” she further claimed.