SRINAGAR: The Crime Branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Police has arrested the prime accused in the Sainik Colony murder case, bringing a dramatic turn to an investigation marred by allegations of cover-up and lapses, reports appearing in the media said.
Sher Singh, a resident of Hissar district in Haryana and an employee of a defence force posted at Jammu Tawi Railway Station, was apprehended from the Gandhi Nagar area on Saturday morning, sources said. He is accused of opening fire at a physiotherapy centre in Jammu’s Sainik Colony on August 21, killing 30-year-old Mehjabeen Akil Sheikh of West Malad, Mumbai, and injuring her sister Fatima (21) and their colleague Jaspreet Kour (28).
According to investigators, the incident was rooted in Singh’s obsession with another woman, identified as Jyoti Devi alias Vaishali Singh, who was allegedly associated with dubious activities at the physiotherapy centre. “The accused was deeply in love with Jyoti Devi and wanted her to quit the business she was involved in. Out of frustration, when he did not find her at the centre on August 21, he opened fire on the three women present there,” Jammu newspaper, Daily Excelsior, quoted sources revealing to it.
The attack initially appeared to have been hushed up. Two men managing the physiotherapy centre reportedly rushed the injured women to JK Medicity Hospital, presenting the case as a road accident. The victims were later moved to ASCOMS Batra and eventually to the Government Medical College Jammu, where Mehjabeen succumbed to her injuries on August 29.
It was only after senior police officers intervened that a murder case was registered at Police Station Channi Himmat on September 18. The probe soon revealed alleged tampering of records and attempts to wash away the crime scene.
The handling of the case triggered action against three police officers—then SHO Channi Himmat, Inspector Deepak Pathania, then Incharge Police Post Sainik Colony PSI Wasim Bhatti, and then Investigation Officer PSI Rohit Sharma—who were suspended for suspected irregularities in the enquiry. They were attached to the Regional Police Headquarters in Jammu following an order by Senior Superintendent of Police Joginder Singh.
To ensure impartiality, the case was transferred to the Crime Branch, which constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by a Deputy Superintendent of Police on September 19. The SIT formally took charge of the case records from the Channi Himmat police station and began re-examining witness accounts, including the statement of Fatima Akil, who had recently been discharged from the hospital.
Police sources said the SIT is also investigating the role of the suspended officers in allegedly attempting to portray the shooting as a road accident. The investigation has been further complicated by suspicions that the physiotherapy centre was operating under the influence of individuals linked to a retired senior police officer residing abroad.
Meanwhile, the whereabouts of Jaspreet Kour, who was also injured in the firing, remain unclear, with sources indicating she has been missing since the day of the attack.
The Crime Branch has said it will pursue both the murder investigation and the inquiry into possible police misconduct to their logical conclusion.
