The cop who chose to ask for ‘help’

Surprisingly,the constable,rather than shooting in the air,ran inside the old complex to ask for help from fellow police officials. When he returned,Basant had escaped with Sarita in the official police vehicle.

When contacted,constable Anil Kumar refused to comment. “I have already told my seniors what I had to tell. I am busy right now,” he said.

As per available information,the constable has been posted at security duty in the Police Lines till further orders.

While a senior police officer said the “constable’s approach could have been much better”,another senior police officer dubbed it an “act of cowardice” and said “he should have acted brave. If not at the accused,he could have shot in the air to scare Basant”.

However,Inspector General of Police R P Upadhyay said,“Basant told the constable who was on duty that he was a police personnel and warned him of dire consequences. Since it was night time,the constable did not shoot fearing he could have hit Sucha Singh.”

Meanwhile,the Chandigarh Police approached the Sonepat court on Sunday seeking custody of Sarita,wife and partner in crime of Basant. She was remanded in judicial custody by the Sonepat court after their arrest. The court,however,refused to immediately hand over her custody to the Chandigarh Police. The jail authorities have been directed to produce Sarita in the Sonepat court on June 13 after which she will be handed over to the Chandigarh Police.

The police had registered a case of murder after Basant stabbed Inspector Sucha Singh to death. The police will seek custody of Basant on production warrants after he is remanded in judicial custody by the Sonepat court.

Escape route

Basant and Sarita crossed Dhanas village on foot in the early hours on June 8 and reached Mullanpur. They hired an auto-rickshaw from near a gurdwara near Mullanpur after which they reached near Siswan road. Then they boarded a bus to Kurali and took a train from Kurali to Delhi.