A 51-YEAR-OLD woman official was chased and shot dead Tuesday afternoon by the owner of a guest house in Kasauli following an altercation between the two during a demolition drive ordered by the Supreme Court against unauthorised structures in 13 hotels across the hill resort in Himachal Pradesh.
According to police, Assistant Town Planner Shail Bala Sharma was killed by Narayani guest house owner Vijay Thakur who allegedly fired four bullets at her inside the establishment in Mandudhar on the Dharampur-Kasauli road, at around 2.33 pm.
A number of police officers and government officials were at the site when the incident occurred. Sharma was declared brought dead by doctors at the Dharampur government hospital. Thakur is on the run, with police saying that they have formed multiple teams to nab him. Police have also announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to the accused’s arrest.
Bullets also hit a labourer, Gulab Singh, working with the PWD, wounding him in his chest and his abdomen.
District administration is currently tearing down unauthorised portions of 13 hotels and resorts that were found in violation of TCP norms. The demolition drive comes in the light of Supreme Court's orders.
Himachal Police spokesperson, superintendent of police (SP) Khushal Sharma said, “A case has been registered at Dharampur police station. We have launched a hunt for Vijay Singh.” Requesting anonymity, a senior officer in the Shimla-based town and country planning department, said, “The protection of the department staff going on such duty is that of the police. The police have failed to protect our officer and not arrested the guesthouse owner.”
Meanwhile, some hoteliers in Kasauli have begun pulling down illegal structures.
On April 17, the Supreme Court gave hotel owners 15 days to demolish unauthorised construction. They have been told to deposit a fine of up to Rs 15 lakh each.
A bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta had observed that some hotels and resorts were supposed to construct only two-storeyed buildings but six-storeyed ones had been built. “You just demolish it (unauthorised constructions).
What is going on? You are admitting that you were supposed to make only two-storeyed buildings. There was a landslide in your premises and you did nothing. You are putting the life of people in danger. For what? Money,” the bench had observed.
Owners of hotels, resorts and guest houses in Kasauli had earlier approached the apex court challenging the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order to demolish or close down establishments extended without approval.
