Punjab DSP was with auto driver for 3 hours; where is 2nd bullet fired from his pistol; gaping loopholes in police version

Tribune News Service

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, January 5

A day after the Jalandhar police claimed to have cracked the murder case of Arjuna awardee DSP Dalbir Singh, several loopholes have come to the fore in the police version.

The fact that the DSP stayed with an autorickshaw driver Vijay Kumar for over three hours on the New Year’s Eve is beyond anyone’s comprehension.

According to the police, the victim had hired the autorickshaw at 10.27 pm from Jalandhar bus stand to go to his place at Khojewal village in Kapurthala, 14 km away, and was murdered at 1.18 am.

Unanswered questions

• Why didn’t the DSP call anyone to drop him home from Jalandhar and instead hired an autorickshaw?
• Why did the DSP hang around with the auto driver for three hours (10.27 pm to 1.18 am) on the New Year’s Eve?
• Why did the auto driver hide the DSP’s Glock 9 mm pistol at his own place and not flee?
• As there were reports that two bullets were fired from the pistol, where is the second shell?

Though the police had tried to establish their version through CCTV footage of the autorickshaw, several questions still remain unanswered.

It’s quite unusual for a serving DSP-rank officer to hire an autorickshaw in the thick of night. Dalbir, who was an Asian gold medallist in weightlifting, had his one leg amputated and it was quite difficult for him to hop on and off the autorickshaw.

The police had stated that the duo had dinner at ‘Mame Da Dhaba’ at Workshop Chowk and also consumed liquor till 12 midnight.

The auto driver had agreed to drop the DSP at Workshop Chowk. As Dalbir failed to get another vehicle, the duo quarrelled and Dalbir told the auto driver to drop him at home, said the police.

However, if the driver was not willing to drop him, why did he refuel the auto?

The fact that senior police officials kept on changing their version for four days has further raised a lot of suspicion over its veracity.

On the first day, the police failed to ascertain whether he was murdered or not.

Next day, the police said the DSP’s car had met with an accident and he had gone to Jalandhar with his two friends. On January 3, cops came up with a loot angle.

On January 4, Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma declared that there was no loot angle as the DSP’s cellphone and wallet were found intact.

Initially, there were reports that two bullets were fired from Dalbir’s Glock 9 mm pistol. While one bullet pierced his eye, shell of second bullet couldn’t be found.

The Police Commissioner, however, maintained that only a single bullet was fired and ruled out self-defence angle by the auto driver.

According to the police, the auto driver was taking de-addiction treatment after his wife separated from him.

About The Author

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