Kasauli murder case: Hotelier Vijay Singh arrested from Mathura for death of woman official who led demolition drive

Two days after a woman officer who was leading a demolition drive in Himachal Pradesh’s Kasauli was shot dead, police have arrested an accused,  ANI reported. A team comprising Himachal Pradesh and Delhi Police personnel arrested Vijay Singh who shot dead Assistant Town Planner Shail Bala Sharma on Tuesday, they said. [caption id=“attachment_4455145” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] “The accused Vijay Singh was arrested from Mathura-Vrindavan area this evening. It was a joint effort of the Himachal Pradesh Police and a Delhi Police special team,” Solan SP, Mohit Chawla told PTI. The accused was on the run and kept changing locations, he said. He even stayed near the Mathura refinery and the Banke Bihari temple, Chawla said adding the accused would be brought and produced before a court here. He had disguised himself to evade arrest, a police official said. According to The Indian Express, the accused  had sent a text message saying he was going to surrender. The man is accused of killing assistant town and country planner Shaila Bala Sharma on Tuesday. He had fired two rounds in the air as employees began the demolition drive in Dharampur area following Supreme Court orders. A stray bullet hit Sharma, killing her on the spot. A labourer, Gulab Singh, also received a gunshot injury in the abdomen. District officials were removing illegal structures in 13 hotels and resorts in Kasauli area when the crime was committed. On Wednesday, the  Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of her killing, terming the incident as “extremely serious”. “We might stop passing any orders if you are going to kill people,” the bench observed after the issue was mentioned before it. The apex court had also questioned as to what the police team, which had accompanied government officials during the sealing drive was doing when the hotel owner allegedly shot at the woman. With inputs from agencies