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Kasauli hotelier accused of shooting woman town planner arrested in Mathura
Kasauli hotelier Vijay Singh was arrested by Himachal Pradesh Police and the special cell of the Delhi police from a temple in Mathura, where he had fled to after allegedly shooting assistant town planner Shail Bala Sharma
The Kasauli hotelier who allegedly shot dead a woman official during a Supreme Court-ordered drive to remove unauthorized construction was arrested from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh on Thursday, police said.
Vijay Singh, the owner of Narayani guest house in Kasauli, was arrested in a joint operation by Himachal Pradesh Police and the special cell of the Delhi police from a temple in Mathura, where he had fled to after allegedly shooting assistant town planner Shail Bala Sharma last Tuesday, Solan Superintendent of Police Mohit Chawla said.
Police said according to information from local villagers, Singh fled the guest house at which he allegedly shot Sharma and reached the road to Sanawar, 6km away, by using a forest trail through a nearby hill.
Police said after shooting the official, Vijay called up his friends for help. He asked one of his acquaintances to arrange a vehicle for him. Anticipating that police might track his location, he switched off his phone, said police.
However, he later made a call that allowed his location to be traced.
On Singh’s trail, police combed the Sanawar forest area and questioned his family who lived on the top floor of the hotel. They also scanned video footage of the demolition drive recorded by the town and country planning department as questioned four policemen deputed to assist the drive .
The SP said the accused boarded a Rohru-Chandigarh bus from the Shimla-Kalka highway. “We also scanned closed-circuit television footage from Chandimandir which showed a man resembling him sitting in the bus,” said the SP. The bus conductor told the police that Vijay alighted from the bus at Tribune Chowk. He was enquiring about a bus to Delhi, the conductor said.
To conceal his identity, Singh shaved off his moustache and got a haircut, said the SP.
Acting on the information, the team contacted the Delhi Police crime branch. “His location was traced to Mathura refinery after he called somebody from his cellphone. The police finally found him at a temple,” said Chawla. Police will bring Vijay to Solan on Friday where he will be produced in a local court, he said.
