Gurgaon: PSO shot wife, son of judge after being rebuked, was ‘cold-blooded murder’, says police
The incident had occurred between 3.15 pm and 3.20 pm on Saturday, at Unitech Arcadia, a busy market in Gurgaon’s Sector 49.
According to police, the PSO, who was arrested “around one, one and a half hours later”, was trying to “eliminate evidence” by removing the 18-year-old’s body from the spot.
Four days after the wife and son of an additional district and sessions judge were shot by his personal security officer (PSO) at a busy Gurgaon market, police on Wednesday termed the incident as a “cold-blooded murder”. The police also revealed that the incident occurred in the spur of the moment, after the judge’s spouse and son rebuked the accused for being untraceable when they returned after shopping.
“They had asked Head Constable Mahipal to wait near the car while they went shopping but, when they returned, he was not there. After they managed to track him down, the judge’s wife and son scolded him for not being near the vehicle, and the son asked him for the car keys,” said Sumit Kumar, DCP (Crime), during a press conference on Wednesday morning.
Read| He visited us a few days ago: Family of accused in Gurgaon shooting
“Mahipal became aggressive when this happened, and got into a fight with Dhruv, the judge’s son. When his mother tried to help him, Mahipal shot her, after which he shot Dhruv,” he added.
The incident had occurred between 3.15 pm and 3.20 pm last Saturday, at Unitech Arcadia, a busy market in Gurgaon’s Sector 49. Videos recorded by bystanders show the accused trying to haul Dhruv’s body into the white Honda City after the incident, however, failing to do so, he is seen getting into the vehicle and fleeing the scene.
According to police, the PSO, who was arrested “around one, one and a half hours later”, was trying to “eliminate evidence” by removing the 18-year-old’s body from the spot. “The shooting was not pre-planned, but was a case of cold-blooded murder that followed after the family rebuked him and reminded him of his duties,” DCP Kumar said.
Read more| PSO who shot judge’s kin had ‘gone quiet, serious’
At the press conference, police dismissed rumours surrounding the accused of being ill-treated by the judge or his relatives and also the reports that have reportedly claimed his conversion to Christianity.
“Our investigation so far has not indicated anything about Mahipal having converted to Christianity or being a follower of any religious leader in a context that may have something to do with this incident. The accused has also not made any claims that he was otherwise ill treated by the judge or his relatives. In fact, he has said he was treated well and the judge treated him like a colleague,” DCP Kumar said.
While the judge’s wife, Ritu, 37, succumbed to her injuries on Saturday night, Dhruv is still admitted at Medanta – The Medicity and continues to be in a critical condition. Also Read| Judge’s son declared ‘brain dead’
Mahipal had been arrested the evening of the incident, near Gwal Pahari on Gurgaon-Faridabad road, and the service revolver used in the crime as well as the Honda City car in which he fled the scene were seized from him.
Police say that in the time between his fleeing and his arrest, he rang the judge, Krishan Kant Sharma, and informed him of the incident. He had been his PSO for 1.5 years.
Mahipal also called his wife and a maternal cousin and told them what he had done, said police.
“His four days of police remand come to an end tomorrow, and he will be produced in court. We are yet to decide whether we will seek further remand. The investigation is ongoing,” said the DCP.
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