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Mother of Kasauli shooting accused wants him to surrender as cops continue hunt
“I know he has done wrong and it should not have happened but I fear that he may kill himself,” said 73-year-old Narayani Devi, mother of the Kasauli shooting accused.
The mother of the hotelier, who is on the run after shooting a woman government official dead on Tuesday in Himachal Pradesh’s Kasauli town during a demolition drive, said on Thursday she was worried for her son but wants him to give himself up to the police.
Vijay Singh, a Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited employee, allegedly chased and shot at assistant town and country planner Shail Bala Sharma after an argument over the demolition of the unauthorised construction in his Narayani Guest House after a recent Supreme Court order.
“I know he has done wrong and it should not have happened but I fear that he may kill himself,” 73-year-old Narayani Devi said as she was surrounded by her three grandchildren and other relatives in the partially demolished building in Kasauli.
“I am still shocked. How could he do so? He loves his children so much. The day before yesterday, he (Vijay) was planning to go to St Mary School where his three children study,” she said
Devi said 52-year-old Singh told her he could die and asked her to take care of his children as he was leaving.
Sharma and her team launched the demolition drive on Tuesday in keeping with an April 17 directive of the Supreme Court that 13 hotel and resort owners in Kasauli pull down unauthorised structures on their premises within 15 days.
They were also asked to pay a fine of up to Rs 15 lakh each.
Devi said as per the town and country planning department, two floors of their house were illegally constructed and that they pulled down one floor and closed the ground floor.
“She (Shail Bala) did not listen to our version. We have a map of this building and also paying taxes since long. This building did not come up overnight. We have been living here for decades,” she added.
“Our life has been ruined. What would I do if he kills himself or anyone else? My grandchildren’s future is at stake now,” said she, pointing towards children, who were busy playing with their pet.
Singh’s wife did not utter a word and constantly looked at her children.
“We constructed this house in 2000 and developed it into a guest house later. Over these years, no officer came to tell us that it was illegal. We had hopes from the Supreme Court but no one pleaded for us,” Devi said.
“He (Vijay) was upset for the last few days. He had left no stone unturned to make authorities understand that we would pull out illegal portion.”
Singh, an additional private secretary with the electricity board, has been suspended from his services. He was appointed as an additional private secretary in 2013, over 25 years after he joined the board in 1985.
Police have launched a massive manhunt to trace Singh, who absconded after the incident.
“The search operation is on and we are hopeful of nabbing him,” Solan’s superintendent of police Mohit Chawla said.
The police are also combing the forest areas in Kuthar and Jagjit Nagar, officials said. “There are reports that Vijay Singh had walked his way towards Shimla side,” a police officer said requesting anonymity.
A team of special security unit was also dispatched from Shimla to assist the police in their search operation. The team also questioned Singh’s family members and looked at the video of the incident recorded by officials of the town and country planning department.
They also questioned four policemen who were a part of the quick response team deputed to assist the officials in the demolition drive. Members of the demolition team have alleged that the policemen present at the site fled after Sharma was shot at. The policemen were unarmed.
Police have announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information that could lead to Singh’s arrest.
