A woman who was shot dead Wednesday evening in Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar district during clashes with an Uttar Pradesh Police team that had reached there looking for a man accused of illegal sand mining was identified Thursday as the wife of a local BJP leader. The clashes took place in the midst of an investigation into the illegal mining of sand by the man who was being sought by the Uttar Pradesh Police team.
A war of words has broken out between the police forces of the two BJP-ruled states as a result of an event that occurred in the village of Bharatpur in the district of Udham Singh Nagar. In this incident, six members of the UP Police were hurt, and two of them received gunshot wounds.
The Uttarakhand Police stated that they were not informed of the operation; however, the UP Police stated that they had notified the Udham Singh Nagar Police before beginning the operation.
Gurpreet Bhullar, the wife of local BJP leader and block president Gurtej Bhullar, was found dead after being shot. She has been recognized as the victim.
According to Nilesh Anand Bharne, DIG (Kumaon), who spoke to The Indian Express, a First Information Report (FIR) had been filed at the Kunda police station based on a complaint from the woman’s relatives.
According to him, a team from the UP Police Department came to Uttarakhand to make an arrest, but they did not alert the local police.
The First Information Report (FIR) has been filed under IPC sections relating to murder, rioting, house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint, intentional insult with the intent to provoke breach of the peace, criminal intimidation, and criminal conspiracy against 11 to 12 unidentified UP police personnel.
After the woman’s passing, there were demonstrations held in the surrounding region. Bharne stated that everything is back under control at this point.
“The cremation of the woman took place on Thursday. It has been determined that she is the partner of Gurtej, a prominent figure in the neighborhood who is also the BJP’s block pramukh. On the basis of a complaint made by her family, a FIR has been launched against members of the UP Police… The Uttarakhand Police Department was not informed in advance that the Uttar Pradesh Police Department would be arriving to apprehend a wanted suspect. They carried out the search warrant in a residential neighborhood. The region’s location in the mining belt is another factor contributing to its high degree of sensitivity. They made an attempt to enter the residence but were met with opposition. As a consequence, fights broke out, and shots were fired. According to Bharne, the investigation will reveal the precise number of shots that were fired.
Earlier, the DIG made the following statement to the media: “The block pramukh here, Gurtej Bhullar, is a well-respected person and a police team from Moradabad reached Udham Singh Nagar without giving any information in order to conduct a raid at his house.” At first glance, it appears that none of them were dressed in any kind of (police) uniform. We are conducting an investigation.
In the meantime, an official from the forensic department in Uttarakhand stated that they did not uncover any evidence of cross-firing at the scene when they inspected it. This contradicts the findings of the UP Police.
“We conducted a thorough examination of the car, and from a forensic point of view, we were unable to locate any evidence of cross-firing. There are usually warning signs posted on walls or vehicles whenever there is cross-firing, however we were unable to discover any of these. It would appear at first glance that those who came were the ones who fired the rounds, the officer stated.
According to Bharne, it is just too soon to make any conclusions from a forensic point of view. “The samples that were gathered will be sent to the lab, and the results will only come when suitable testing have been run,” he stated. When Bharne was asked if there was any link between the Bhullar family and Jaffar, the individual the UP Police came looking for, he said that they had not come across any link thus far in their investigation.
In the meantime, the police in Moradabad have filed a first information report (FIR) at the Thakurdwara police station in the city against Jaffar and 30-35 other people who have not been identified. Charges relating to riots, attempted murder, criminal conspiracy, dacoity, and assault or criminal force to deter public worker from discharging his duty were included in the FIR that was filed.
Yogendra Kumar Singh, the SHO of the Thakurwada police station, is one of the six injured UP police officials.
In the first incident report (FIR), the SHO is cited as saying that the police received information on Wednesday evening that Jaffar would be on the Jaspur road in a white automobile. According to the FIR, the SHO contacted the in-charge of the Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Moradabad police soon after the incident occurred.
Jaffar, who was with an acquaintance at the time, opened fire on the police squad when they stopped the car they were traveling in. The Moradabad police force gave chase to the speeding automobile as it headed in the direction of Uttarakhand.
According to the UP Police, Jaffar opened fire once more, and a bullet struck constable Deepak Kumar in the shoulder.
“The vehicle driven by Jaffar entered a hamlet in Uttarakhand… Along with his accomplice, he made a hasty retreat inside a house. The team from Moradabad police also entered the house, according to the authorities.
According to the police, Jaffar’s companions attacked the police team with sticks and sharp-edged weapons as well as opened fire on them. Additionally, the police van was set on fire during the incident. Jaffar was able to evade capture during the assault, according to Hemant Kutiyal, the SSP for Moradabad, who was speaking to members of the media. He stated that the Uttarakhand Police had been told of the operation, and “we have evidence” that this had occurred.
DIG Shalabh Mathur of the Moradabad range stated that Gurtej, whose wife had been killed by gunfire, along with his brother Sukhbinder Singh alias Chinder Singh, Jagtar Singh, and Satnam Singh alias Satta were present at the scene. Gurtej’s wife had been shot to death. He stated that they had multiple lawsuits filed against them.
In the meantime, Gurtej stated that he arrived from Delhi at approximately 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, and that the event occurred approximately 6:30 a.m. when he was resting on the roof.
“Round ten to twelve persons appeared, and I inquired about their identities. They were all holding handguns in their bare hands. I requested them to head downstairs, and they responded that they were trying to find a driver who was from Thakurdwara. I inquired about the whereabouts of the Uttarakhand Police. They stated that they traveled here without stopping. I told them that if they called the Kunda police, we would give them permission to search… Someone among them pulled out a gun… and one of the bullets struck my wife. These men were all dressed like regular citizens. “He said that they got out of their vehicle.”
