The Hindu : New Delhi News : Encounter specialist murder mystery deepens

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 31, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

Encounter specialist murder mystery deepens

Staff Reporter

ASP’s missing revolver used to kill Rajbir, says Gurgaon Police Commissioner

Photo:PTI

In Judicial custody: Vijay Bhardwaj, who allegedly shot dead ACP Rajbir Singh, coming out of a court in Gurgaon on Sunday.

NEW DELHI: In a new twist to the Rajbir Singh murder case, the Gurgaon police on Sunday revealed that the “encounter specialist” was killed with the service revolver of the Additional Superintendent of Police (Hissar) that had gone missing during an encounter at Dadri last year.

At a press conference, Gurgaon Police Commissioner Mohinder Lal said the .32 firearm was the service revolver of ASP Ashok Seoran. During an encounter at Dadri in July 2007, the officer lost the weapon in a maize field while chasing a criminal. After failing to trace the firearm, Mr. Seoran lodged an FIR at the area police station on July 21, 2007.

Mr. Seoran told a news channel that he lost his revolver in an encounter.

Earlier, when the police recovered the revolver at the instance of accused Vijay Bhardwaj after Rajbir’s murder, they found the manufacturing number “E-8256” etched on it. Enquiries at the Kanpur ordnance factory revealed that a firearm of that serial number was issued to a resident of Jhajjar in Haryana in 2004. When the police contacted the person, he produced the firearm bearing the same number.

The police found that the serial number of the revolver used in the murder of Rajbir was tampered with and that its real number was “A-1031.” The revolver was issued by the Kanpur ordnance factory on February 26, 1993, and allotted to the ASP (Hissar).

The police are now trying to find out how the missing revolver landed in the hands of Rajbir.

During interrogation, Bhardwaj reportedly claimed that Rajbir gave him the firearm three days before the murder as he had to collect a huge sum of money from a man in Sirsa. However, Bhardwaj never visited Sirsa.

The Gurgaon police on Saturday summoned some members of the Special Operations Squad of the Delhi Police earlier headed by Rajbir to find out if they had any information about the revolver.

The team members were also asked if they knew anything about Rajbir’s properties.

Meanwhile, following completion of his police remand on Sunday, Bhardwaj was produced in a Gurgaon court that sent him to 14-day judicial custody.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi

News Update

Stories in this Section