SRINAGAR: Authorities in Jammu have suspended three police officers, including a Station House Officer (SHO), for alleged lapses in handling the case of a Mumbai woman’s killing and injuries to two others in Sainik Colony last month, reports appearing in the media said.
Police sources said SHO Channi Himmat, Inspector Deepak Pathania, and Police Post Sainik Colony in-charge PSI Waseem Bhatti, along with PSI Rohit Sharma, were placed under suspension after it was established that the victim, 30-year-old Mehjabeen Akil Sheikh of West Malad, Mumbai, died of bullet wounds and not from a road accident as initially claimed.
On August 21, Mehjabeen, her sister Fatima Akil (21), and Jaspreet Kour (28) of Ludhiana were admitted to JK Medicity Hospital in Jammu by two men — Naveen Bakshi and Surinder Pal — who told doctors the women had been injured in a road mishap on the Ring Road. The duo reportedly runs a physiotherapy centre in Sainik Colony, where, according to sources, questionable activities had been continuing for some time under the watch of the suspended officers.
Against medical advice, the injured women were shifted to ASCOMS Batra Hospital and later to GMC Jammu, where Mehjabeen succumbed on August 30. Police had initially begun inquest proceedings under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS) based on the statement of Bakshi and Pal. But subsequent investigations confirmed that Mehjabeen had suffered a gunshot injury, leading to the registration of a murder case.
An FIR (No. 152/2025) under sections 103(1), 109, 332(b) of the BNSS and the Arms Act was lodged at Channi Himmat Police Station against an unidentified accused.
Senior police officers, taking note of the delay in establishing the firearm link, ordered the suspension of the three officials for failing to promptly detect the murder.
In a statement, police outlined the sequence of events, saying that when the women were admitted to the hospital on August 21, doctors had declared them unfit for statement. Mehjabeen later died on August 30, and while her mother initially sought exemption from post-mortem, the SHO denied it, citing contradictions, and referred the matter for further examination.
The post-mortem was carried out on August 31 by a board of doctors in the presence of a magistrate and crime team, with videography and photography. Investigators later collected CCTV footage, call records, and internet data of the deceased, injured, and their associates.
According to police, suspicion of firearm use soon emerged, and the inquest proceedings were converted into a murder FIR on September 18. A forensic team visited the crime scene and collected evidence, while investigations are continuing to determine whether a wider nexus is involved.
Authorities said the suspension of the officers was due to lapses in timely detection and failure to conclude at an early stage that Mehjabeen had been shot.
The identity of the gunman remains unknown. Efforts are on to trace and arrest the culprit, officials said.
