Shimla, Jun 14 (PTI) Former chief minister and Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur expressed concern on Sunday over a shooting incident in Shimla where unidentified assailants fatally shot a woman.
He urged chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to take effective steps to strengthen law and order in the state.
Police said Meenakshi Mittal, administrator of Saraswati Paradise International Public School in Housing Board Colony, Sanjauli, was shot dead outside the gate of a private school in Shimla’s Sanjauli area on Saturday evening.
Police said three rounds were allegedly fired, and Mittal sustained a gunshot wound to the head and died on the spot.
Thakur, in a statement issued here, said it was shocking that the victim had repeatedly expressed fears for her life and had appealed to police for protection.
“Despite these repeated pleas, her life could not be saved,” he said.
Thakur said, “Failure to protect her represents a major failure of police, administration, and the government.” He sought stern action against all officials found negligent in handling the matter.
The former chief minister said such heartbreaking incidents were once unheard of in Himachal Pradesh, but they are now reported frequently.
“Maintaining law and order, tightening the grip on criminals, and acting against anti-social elements are the primary responsibilities of police. However, the state police is being used as a political tool to target opposition leaders. The police force is harassing newly elected representatives supported by the BJP, protecting people backed by those in power, tracking the locations of opposition leaders, monitoring the phones of BJP leaders, implicating government critics in false cases, and registering fabricated cases against journalists,” he said. PTI/COR ASD ASD
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