Morning murder shocks Shimla

Kumari was the daughter of Amarinder’s late uncle and former IOC President Bhalindra Singh and was a resident of New Delhi. She leaves behind two daughters, one of whom is married to Sangrur MLA Arvind Khanna. Walia had been her companion for several years.

Walia fled in his Bolero but was intercepted by the police at Kandaghat, about 30 km from Shimla. He was brought to Shimla late in the evening and was being interrogated. Both were holidaying in Shimla for the past one week along with another couple, Jaidev and Nisha. Two rooms were booked by the CM Office (CMO) in Chandigarh.

According to the Cedar chowkidar, the couples came back after midnight in an inebriated state. They asked him to prepare eggs and paronthas and kept drinking. According to eyewitness accounts, Walia abused Kumari and she snubbed him about his caste. Walia then threatened to kill her but Kumari said such acts could be committed only by men of respected background. Walia then said, ‘‘I will teach you a lesson,’’ put the pistol on her forehead and pulled the trigger. The witnesses first thought it was as a blank fire, but soon saw blood ooze from Kumari’s forehead.

Shimla SP Yog Raj Thakur said the four persons had come to Shimla on May 23 and stayed at the Forest Rest House at Tutu. On May 24, they moved to Cedar. On Thursday, they left the guest house at about 9 pm for a stroll on The Mall. ‘‘They returned at about 12:30 am and all the four were drunk. At about 3:30 am, an altercation broke out between the two and in the presence of Jaidev and Nisha. Walia, under the influence of liquor, shot Padmesh dead,’’ said Thakur. Kumari lived in Nahan in Himachal for 15 years. Walia also belongs to Nahan.

Randhir Singh has requested the police to hand over the body to a close family friend, Gurvir Singh, who arrived in Shimla. The body would be taken to Delhi and Randhir Singh was expected to reach Delhi on June 1 from London, police said.