Jalandhar DSP murder: Auto driver shot dead DSP after scuffle, say Punjab Police
The accused, identified as Vijay Kumar of Lambra village, was arrested on Wednesday after the police zeroed in on him on the basis of CCTV footage.
A day after police arrested an auto driver for allegedly killing an Arjuna awardee and weightlifter deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Dalbir Singh Deol, 54, the police have recovered his service revolver from the possession of the accused.
The accused, identified as Vijay Kumar of Lambra village, was arrested on Wednesday after the police zeroed in on him on the basis of CCTV footage.
Commissioner of police Swapan Sharma said the deceased hired the driver to drop him off at Khojewal village in Kapurthala but the accused killed the officer with his service revolver after scuffle over dropping him at his desired location.
“Both the accused and deceased indulged in heated arguments and pounced on each other before accused Vijay overpowered him and fired gunshot from point-blank range,” he said. The DSP died on the spot, while the accused took his .9mm Glock pistol with him.
“We have recovered blood-stained clothes and service revolver from his possession.” The body of the former champion weightlifter, who was a silver medallist in the 1999 Asian Games and was conferred the Arjuna Award in 2000, was found abandoned near a canal in Basti Bawa Khel on the outskirts of Jalandhar town on January 1 morning. The body had multiple injuries, including a bullet to the head.
Deol was posted at the Punjab Armed Police (PAP) headquarters in Jalandhar.
A senior police official said based on CCTV footage, they zeroed in on the auto driver the DSP was travelling in on December 31 night.
“In the video, Deol could be seen accompanying the auto driver to a liquor vend near the crime spot. After meeting his friends in a motor garage, the DSP took the auto from bus stand but stopped at a liquor vend near Basti Bawa Khel,” a senior police official said.
The police registered a case under Sections 302 (murder) and 379-B (robbery) of the IPC and other sections of the Arms Act after a bullet injury mark was found on Deol’s head.