State to supply documents to slain drug officer’s parents

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 29

The Punjab Police today made it clear that the copy of the cancellation report and annexed documents in the Neha Shoree murder case would be provided to her parents.

As a petition filed in the matter came up for resumed hearing before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the state counsel made it clear that it would accept her father’s application for the cancellation report’s copy and other documents before supplying the same as early as possible.

The stand of the police in the matter all along has been the accused in the case was dead and further proceedings could not be carried out. The parents, on the other hand, have been alleging the carrying out of the proceedings in a clandestine manner without giving them the details. The High Court was also told that the copy of the cancellation report and the enclosed documents had not been provided to them.

Neha Shoree was shot dead in her office at Kharar. In their investigation, the Mohali police had concluded that accused Balwinder held the victim officer responsible for cancellation of his drug licence in 2009 and nursed a grudge against her. Neha’s parents had alleged that she was killed at the behest of drug mafia.

Her father and another petitioner had subsequently moved the High Court alleging inaction in the matter.

Acting on the plea, the High Court had directed the counsel for the state of Punjab to file a status report on the next date of hearing. In the petition against the state of Punjab and other respondents, Captain Kailash Kumar Shoree and the other petitioner had contended that the FIR in the matter was registered on March 29. But so far “no further action has been taken”.

Appearing before the Bench, their counsel had submitted that the petitioners were senior citizens and had lost their daughter working as Zonal Drugs Licensing Authority in the Food and Drugs Administration Department, Punjab. He said the murder was the handiwork of drug mafia as she had been making efforts to stop the drug menace.

Timeline

• March 29, 2019: Drug officer Neha Shoree shot dead in her office in Kharar. The Punjab Police constitutes a four-member SIT to probe the murder.
• April 4, 2019: Punjab Government forms another SIT, headed by IGP, Ropar Range, V Neeraja, and comprising Mohali SSP HS Bhullar, Ropar SSP Swapan Sharma, Ropar ADC (General) Jagwinder Singh Grewal and Assistant Drug Controller Sanjeev Garg for further investigation.
• April 10, 2019: Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh hands over the probe to Punjab ADGP Prabodh Kumar, Director, Bureau of Investigation.