Woman ‘accidentally’ shot in head by SI in Aligarh police station dies

Sharma had gone to collect the weapon as the Bhujpura outpost is attached with the Kotwali police station.

Ishrat, who was accompanied by her 30-year-old son Ishan, was rushed to a hospital while Sharma and the constable, Sudip, fled from the spot.

Following her death at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Aligarh, a large police contigent was deployed in the area. The post-mortem examination on the body was conducted by a panel of doctors at around 2 am.

“She was operated on Tuesday but her condition continued to deteriorate. The body was handed over to the police,” Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College Chief Medical Superintendent Mohammed Haris said.

Aligarh Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kalanidhi Naithani said a non-bailable warrant has been issued against Sharma, who was suspended soon after the incident, and three teams have been formed to nab him.

“We have announced a reward of Rs 20,000 to anyone giving us a clue on his whereabouts and have also sent his photographs to several districts. Constable Sudip was arrested from Takipur village in Etawah district,” Naithani added.

“Sharma took his service weapon along. At present, we only have the bullet as evidence. An inquiry is already underway to ascertain if the bullet was fired accidentally or if it was a deliberate attempt,” he added.

“The fugitive SI (Sharma) was transferred to Aligarh from Agra three months ago. The Bhujpura police outpost where he was posted is attached with the Kotwali police station where the incident took place. We have also raided Sharma’s house in Meerut but he remains elusive,” Pathak said.

The CCTV footage of the incident, which is doing rounds on social media, shows the SI cocking his pistol inside the police station when it goes off suddenly and hits the woman in her head. The woman, who is seen standing across the table, collapses after the shot is fired.

In the FIR lodged at the Kotwali police station, Ishrat’s son Ishan alleged that constable Sudip sought a hefty sum from his mother for the passport verification and when they reached there, they were asked to come after an hour. “But we decided to wait at the police station, and within seconds, a bullet hit my mother. The two policemen fled and we rushed her to the medical college,” he said.

Aligarh Superintendent of Police (City) Mrigank Shekhar Pathak said while the initial FIR was lodged on charges of murderous assault, it has now been converted to Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

As news of Ishrat’s death spread, leaders from the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress, besides students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) reached the medical college.

“Manoj Sharma killed her but the police are trying to cover it up by claiming that the bullet got fired accidentally. Where is the bulldozer justice of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath now? None of the properties of the fugitive SI has been razed to the ground so far,” former SP legislator Haji Zameer Ullah Khan said.