Bhopal: Police in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district say a man identified as Bhola Ahirwar allegedly shot three people including a minor girl who had registered a case of sexual harassment against him two months ago.
The alleged incident occurred Monday morning when the 28-year-old, who is on the run, barged into the minor’s home. He first shot the girl and then her grandfather Gajraj Ahirwar, 65, before escaping. On his way out, he spotted the girl’s uncle Gayadeen Ahirwar, 23, and shot him too. The girl’s elder sister and other members of the family fled the spot.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Chhatarpur) Vikram Singh told ThePrint, “Accused Bhola Ahirwar was absconding for past two months. Our teams went to Jammu and Delhi to nab him in the sexual harassment case, but he was successful in giving them a slip.”
ASP Singh added that the police have declared a prize of Rs 20,000 for any information that might lead to Bhola’s arrest, and that a special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to track him down.
According to the police, Bhola had been allegedly pressuring the girl and her family to settle the sexual harassment case out of court, but they refused.
The accused managed to escape before neighbours intervened, said police officials, adding that the grandfather died on the spot, while the girl is under treatment at the civil hospital and the uncle has been referred to the district hospital for further treatment.
“I filed a complaint of harassment against Bhola and he shot us today because of it,” the minor girl told the media after the incident.
Police officials familiar with the matter said the accused stole another villager’s motorcycle the same day. In a complaint, one Govind Kushwaha said he was headed back to his village when he met Bhola near a temple. The accused, according to Kushwaha, first asked him for a lift and when he refused, pulled out a pistol and stole his motorcycle at gunpoint.
Taking aim at the Mohan Yadav-led BJP government, state Congress chief Jitu Patwari wrote in a social media post that such incidents “are only possible when accused is confident of not being caught, knowing that law and order is poor and there is jungle raj”.
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