SP Panipat suspends two cops for negligence; body of ex-councillor’s friend fished out

Mukesh Tandon
Tribune News Service
Panipat, November 20

A day after the reported incident of jumping of former councillor Harish Sharma into a canal to commit suicide due to alleged police pressure, Superintendent of Police (SP), Panipat, Manisha Chaudhary on Friday suspended the Tehsil Camp police post in-charge SI Baljeet Singh and ASI Mahavir Singh for their negligence in the investigation of the case registered against the ex-councillor and his councillor daughter along with 10 people registered on November 15.

Notably, former councillor Harish Sharma had jumped into the canal to commit suicide on Thursday morning due to alleged pressure of the police while his friend Rajesh Sharma had also jumped into the canal to save him.

The search operation to trace the ex-councillor and his friend continued on the second day today.

The divers’ team on Friday fished out the body of former councillor’s friend Rajesh Sharma, from the minor canal near Burshayam village in Samalkha area.

The police sent the body to the mortuary at the general hospital for post-mortem examination.

Besides, the SIT constituted by Home Minister Anil Vij, headed by ADGP Sandeep Khirwar began a probe into the matter. It recorded the statements of the ex-councillor’s family members in which they alleged police harassment behind the incident on Thursday night. 

SIT chief ADGP Khirwar along with SP Rohtak Rahul Sharma, ASP Gohana Udai Singh Meena and FSL team and dog squad visited the spot to inquire about the ex-councillor’s suicide incident.

The SIT recreated the crime scene on the basis of the statement of eyewitnesses Satish Sharma, brother of the ex-councillor, and Sonu Saluja to get the incident in details and to know the actual sequence of the reported drowning incident at the canal.

Earlier, the SIT visited the house of former councillor Harish Sharma in Ram Nagar of Tehsil Camp and met his family members.

The sources said that councillor Anjali Sharma had given complaint to the SIT head in which they had alleged names of SP, Tehsil Camp police post in-charge SI Baljeet Singh and ASI Mahabir Singh and two so called Youtuber journalists. 

Besides, the SIT also questioned the whole incident from SP Panipat, DSP City, SHO City and Tehsil camp police post in-charge and ASI involved in the matter for around two hours in the office of DSP City.   

SP Rohtak and SIT member Rahul Sharma told The Tribune that though the matter is under investigation but during the preliminary investigation the role of police post incharge SI Baljeet Singh was shown biased towards Harish Sharma.

Besides, it is the matter of serious concern that why the ex-councillor had jumped into the canal to commit suicide while the Sections 379-A (snatching) and 511 of IPC were removed after the matter came to the knowledge of the DSP City and SP Panipat, he added.

The case was simple that police can bail out the accused easily, he added.

SIT chief Sandeep Khirwar told that inquiry is under way and we have visited the spot with the forensic team and the dog squad, where the reported drowning incident occurred.

The victim’s family has given a complaint to us and we are verifying the facts, he added. The matter is under investigation and the facts couldn’t be revealed during the inquiry, he added.

We have been making our best efforts in searching for the former councillor and also trying to get the facts at all possible angles into the matter, he added.

Notably, the SIT had to submit its inquiry report to Home Minister Anil Vij till Saturday.

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