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Gurtaj Singh Bhullar, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior block pramukh from Uttarakhand’s Jaspur, whose wife Gurpreet was shot dead during an Uttar Pradesh police raid, alleged on Friday that officials were drunk and "killed" his wife, as he also accused them of make up a story to justify the incident.
The BJP leader, speaking to the Indian Express, alleged that the Uttar Pradesh police team that raided his house was drunk, did not have a search warrant and was dressed in civilian clothes. He also alleged that during an argument, one of the policemen shot and killed his wife.
Bhullar has demanded an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the matter, saying he is ready to face the consequences if his guilt is proven through the investigation.
“I am a pramukh bloc of the BJP. The BJP government is ruling in both states… If a person like me can't get justice, what hope is left for a common man? The Express report quoted him as saying.
The police team had reportedly received a tip that a mining mafia Zafar, carrying a bounty of Rs 50,000 on his head, was hiding in Bhullar's house near Kashipur in the Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand.
Initial reports claimed that Kaur had been killed in a shootout that broke out at Bhullar's home between locals and police personnel in which police said two officers had been injured.
Angry locals protested and blocked the national highway after the woman was reportedly killed in a clash between Moradabad police and locals in Uttarakhand's Bharatpur village of Udham Singh Nagar.
“The UP Police came here without informing anyone. They were not uniformed, nor did they carry identity cards. That way there are no break-ins. They entered a house, shot and a woman lost her life. one murder has been recorded," Nilesh Anand Bharney, DIG, Kumaon Range, was quoted as saying by ANI.
The DIG further reported, "We are investigating it. If they (UP police) had informed the local police, they could have helped them better as they know the area. The injured UP police officers went to Moradabad hospital without reporting us".
The Uttarakhand police had also filed accusations against the Uttar Pradesh police team, saying that they did not hint to their Uttarakhand counterparts about the raid in advance and that when the Uttarakhand police officers arrived on the scene, they took them hostage and their weapons were taken from them.
Furthermore, according to the Express report, an official from the forensic department, after investigating the crime scene, said they found no evidence of cross-fire as Uttar Pradesh police had claimed.
The Uttarakhand Police also registered a case against 10-12 Uttar Pradesh Police personnel under Sections 147 (riot), 148 (riot, armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (any member of an unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in the prosecution of a common object), 302 (murder), 452 (entering a home after preparation for harm, assault, or undue restraint), 504 (intentional insult with intent to cause a breach of the peace ) and 120-b (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code after a complaint filed by the family of the deceased.
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