Kasauli shooting: ex-SP among 4 suspended

Hotel owner Vijay who fired on ATCP Shail Bala during demolition drive at Kasauli. (Express photo by Jaipal Singh)

The Himachal Pradesh government on Thursday ordered the suspension of Solan’s former SP Mohit Chawla and four others, including a naib tehsildar, besides ordering disciplinary proceedings against nine other police personnel who were on duty when Assistant Town Planner (ATP) Shail Bala Sharma was shot dead, allegedly by a hotel owner during a Supreme Court-ordered demolition drive in Kasauli on May 1.

A PWD worker, Gulab Singh, who was also allegedly shot by the same man, succumbed to injuries days later at PGI Chandigarh. The accused, Vijay Singh, owner of Narayani guest house, was arrested from Mathura three days after the incident.

CM Jai Ram Thakur on Thursday accepted the report of the inquiry, headed by former divisional commissioner of Shimla, Dinesh Malhotra, and directed Additional Chief secretary (Home) B K Aggarwal to order the suspensions. The inquiry report had indicted 14 officials, including Mohit Chawla, for grave security lapses during the demolition drive.