A sub-inspector of Punjab Police was suspended and a first information report was filed against him on Tuesday after he shot a motorcyclist during a scuffle in Derabassi city earlier this week, PTI reported.
The police claim that Sub-Inspector Balwinder Singh had shot Hitesh Aggarwal in self-defence. The incident occurred on June 26.
A video of the incident has been widely shared on social media. It shows a man and a woman in an argument with a policeman who then fires a single shot at the man’s leg.
According to the police, for checking purposes, a patrolling team had stopped Aggarwal, who was travelling with a woman on a two-wheeler. The woman had an argument with Singh and subsequently called some of her relatives following which they entered into an altercation with the police officials, according to PTI.
The police claimed they had to open fire in the air to disperse a small mob that had gathered at the spot, according to The Indian Express. Police added that since the mob refused to back down, the police officer fired at the crowd, injuring Hitesh. He was admitted to a hospital in Chandigarh.
“Some of the people gathered there attacked the police personnel with sticks and damaged the police vehicles,” the police said in a statement. “They have also torn off the uniform of a police officer”
However, Aggarwal alleged that his brother-in-law and sister were at a marketplace when some policemen started misbehaving with the woman, reported The Indian Express. The police official fired at him when he objected to this, Aggarwal alleged.
Meanwhile, Aggarwal’s brother told ANI that the policemen were drunk.
“We were standing on Hebatpur Road when police arrived and misbehaved with us,” he said. “...They were drunk and then fired at my brother.”
Senior Superintendent of Police (Mohali) Vivek Sheel Soni said that Singh was suspended on Tuesday and a departmental inquiry was also initiated against three police officials present on the spot.
Singh has been charged under Sections 324 (assault) and 354 (outraging modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code, among other charges, according to NDTV.
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