Shimla, Aug 9: Four persons were today detained by the police for interrogation for the murder of a Solan youth Pankaj, alias Lucky, at Shamti on the Solan-Rajgarh Road near here last evening. Pankaj, who was a gym trainer and also ran a dhaba, was rushed to the regional hospital here where he was declared brought dead. Pankaj received six bullets on his head, left chest, above the ear and the back. Doctors said that he was fired upon from a close range.
An irate mob comprising locals had ransacked the rented accommodation of the four persons in the Scientists Colony area of Shamti on the suspicion that they were the assailants. These youth hail from Haryana and have been staying at Shamti in a rented accommodation.
The police was verifying their antecedents.Three assailants, who were travelling in a white car bearing Haryana registration number, had fled the spot hurriedly and hit another bike while travelling towards Solan after firing shots at Pankaj late on Monday.
They alighted from the vehicle about 15 minutes later. After removing fake number plate affixed on the vehicle near Sai International School they escaped on foot, according to a close circuit camera grab secured by the police from the spot.
Superintendent of Police Mohit Chawla said they had secured five to six crucial leads and investigation was proceeding on the basis of scientific evidence as well as the first-hand account of eye witnesses, including an auto driver.
A case under Section 302 and 34 of the IPC for murder and common intension has been registered and further investigations were underway. The chronology of the crime has been worked out on the basis of the CCTV grab and information like type of weapon used would be known from the report of forensic experts.
Police teams have been dispatched to Sonepat and Delhi to nab the assailants on the basis of the address mentioned in the registration number of the car impounded from the spot, informed Chawla.
The police had also shared the sketches of the assailants with the Haryana and Delhi police.The assailants appear to have vanished on foot soon after executing the crime. Despite laying nakas and cordoning off the area till the wee hours, they could not be traced.
Though police was yet to verify the motive behind the murder it appeared to be a well planned crime as the miscreants were carrying a fake number plate to conceal their identity after the crime.
The facts like whether Pankaj was out on a walk after dinner was part of his usual routine were also being verified. Little evidence was available from the car abandoned by the assailants.The deceased is the son of a Head Constable working with the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau here.
The glasses of the casualty door of the local hospital were broken following a minor scuffle which took place between two groups in the casualty ward of the hospital where Pankaj’s body was kept last night.
His body has been sent to the IGMC, Shimla, for postmortem examination where a team of forensic science experts will examine various technical issues like use of more than one weapon, type of weapon, etc.
The incident has sent shock waves among the residents who said the town was becoming unsafe with such instances coming to fore. Member Parliament, Shimla, Virender Kashyap condemned the brutal attack on Pankaj and said it was indicative of the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
He asked the police to take effective and preemptive steps to maintain peace in the region and safeguard the lives and property of the innocent citizens who are repeatedly becoming targets of such ghastly attacks. He said the state government should strengthen the law and order machinery in the borders areas of Solan districts adjoining Haryana and Punjab.
Source Tribune India
