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Punjab DSP booked for shooting at his wife
ATTEMPT TO MURDER: Complainant says he fired at her in a fit of rage after an argument at their house in Sector 68, Mohali
Atul Soni, 50, a deputy superintendent of police posted with 13th Battalion of Punjab Armed Police in Chandigarh, has been booked for murder bid on his wife.
Acting on the complaint of his wife, Sunita Soni — a former national-level handball player — the Mohali police on Sunday registered a case against the DSP under Sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) besides the Arms Act at the Phase 8 police station.
The family resides at the United Cooperative Society in Sector 68, Mohali. Soni has served as an inspector in Mohali for several years.
In her complaint, Sunita alleged that the couple had gone to a party in Chandigarh on Saturday evening, where they had an argument. The two returned in separate vehicles, but on reaching home, they again started arguing, she told police.
In a fit of rage, Soni shot at her with his pistol, but the bullet went over her head, she alleged. Later, the DSP fled.
Mohali DSP Ramandeep Singh said: “A case has been registered and we are investigating the matter. The couple used to have heated arguments earlier too, but things went out of control on Saturday evening. Though she has claimed that he fired at her, we are trying to verify the facts.”
Soni could not be contacted for comment despite repeated attempts.
Belonging to Chandigarh, Soni was recruited in the Punjab Police as an assistant sub-inspector in 1992 and was promoted as a DSP in 2018. He was among eight Punjab Police officers to be selected for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Kosovo in 2006. He represented India at international handball tournaments thrice. Last year, he was also elected as the coordinator of the Chandigarh Body Building And Fitness Association.
However, in all these years, he has been embroiled in several controversies, be it being arrested after seizure of bullets at airport or being booked in case of kidnapping and extortion (see box).
NO STRANGER TO CONTROVERSIES
In June 2012, Soni was arrested with live bullets at the Indira Gandhi International Airport just before he was about to board a flight to Australia. He was posted as an inspector in Mohali at that time. He was travelling with his wife and was arrested under the Arms Act
In March 2013, the Panchkula police booked Soni in a kidnapping and extortion case. A Panchkula resident, Vaneet Kumar Sharma, alleged that he had a property-related dispute with his landlord. He was allegedly picked up by cops and taken to the Mataur police station by the then SHO Soni, where the latter threatened to implicate him in a false case if he did not vacate the premises
In March 2019, the Mohali police arrested Soni’s son after an NRI was killed in a road accident on the Airport Road. The victim was travelling in a cab when a speeding Hyundai Creta SUV, allegedly being driven by Soni’s son, rammed into it. The NRI, who was sitting in the back, died on the spot
