The son of IAS officer Sanjay Popli, who was arrested in a corruption case, died of a bullet wound on Saturday. While the police have said he died by suicide, the family has alleged foul play.
A video tweeted by news agency ANI showed Sanjay Popli alleging his son was “murdered”. “I am an eye-witness, my son was killed in front of me,” the bureaucrat is heard saying in the nearly 30-seconds-long clip.
Kartik Popli, the 26-year-old son of the senior Punjab IAS officer Sanjay Popli, died of a gunshot wound in the head when a team from the Vigilance Bureau was at the house for a search in Sector 11, Chandigarh, on Saturday afternoon.
However, a Vigilance Bureau official said they had left the house before the incident took place, reported PTI.
Chandigarh's senior superintendent of police Kuldeep Singh Chahal said after verifying things it was found that the 26-year-old had "shot himself" with his licensed pistol. He said further investigations were on.
{{/usCountry}}Chandigarh's senior superintendent of police Kuldeep Singh Chahal said after verifying things it was found that the 26-year-old had "shot himself" with his licensed pistol. He said further investigations were on.
{{/usCountry}}An inconsolable Sanjay Popli's wife told reporters, "The Vigilance officials were pressuring us and they were even torturing my domestic help to give false statements in support of the case they have registered. My 27-year-old son is gone. He was a brilliant lawyer. They have snatched him".
"To build a false case, they snatched my son--Kartik Popli is gone," said Sanjay Popli's wife showing blood spots of his son on her hands.
"I will not wash these hands till we get justice. I want justice. I will move court," said the wailing woman, repeatedly crying "my son has been killed".
"(Punjab Chief Minister) Bhagwant Mann should answer," she said.
She claimed that the Vigilance officials took Kartik upstairs.
"When I went up they were mentally torturing my son," she said, adding "even our mobile phones were snatched".
On Monday, Sanjay Popli was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in a corruption case. The 2008-batch IAS officer was arrested in a case pertaining to allotment of tenders when he was posted as the chief executive officer of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board.
(With inputs from bureau and PTI)