M A I N   N E W S

Amarinder’s cousin shot
Midnight drama in Shimla
Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 30
Ms Padmesh Kaur, a cousin of the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, was shot dead at the Cedar circuit house of the Punjab Government in the small hours of the day, here today.

The body of Ms Padmesh Kaur lies in a hospital at Shimla.

The murder was allegedly committed by Dhiren Walia, caretaker of the farmhouse at Chhatarpur, owned by the brother of the deceased, who accompanied her to Shimla along with another family member for a holiday. The deceased had been living in the farmhouse. An altercation between the two after a late dinner led to the incident. The trouble arose when Dhiren Walia made some uncharitable remarks about the family of Ms Padmesh. She was enraged and asked him to keep off her family. Dhiren, who was under the influence of liquor, lost his cool and shot her on the head from close range. She collapsed in the chair and died instantly. Dhiren vanished from the scene in the Bolero jeep in which they had come from Delhi.

All this happened in the presence of Jaidev and Nisha, the couple who accompanied the deceased from Delhi. The two raised an alarm and woke up the chowkidar of the circuit house who immediately informed the police control room.

The police swung into action and sealed all possible exit points. The vehicle was intercepted at Kandaghat, about 32 km from here, on the Shimla-Chandigarh highway at 3.55 am. The culprit was nabbed. The .32 bore pistol used in the crime was recovered from him. He had fired only one shot. Five cartridges were still loaded in the weapon. He was carrying another 16 live cartridges on his holster.

Dhiren Walia who allegedly shot dead Ms Padmesh Kaur. — Photos Anil Dayal

Giving details of the incident Mr Yog Raj Thakur, the district police chief, said Ms Padmesh, Dhiren and their friend couple, Jaidev and Nisha, landed in Shimla in two vehicles — a Bolero and a Maruti Zen — on May 23. They stayed at the forest rest house, Tutu, for a day and shifted to the Cedar circuit house the following day.

Last night they went out for dinner. They had drinks at a local restaurant and returned after midnight to the circuit house. They asked the chowkidar to prepare “paranthas” and scrambled eggs and had more drinks. It was around 3 am that the altercation leading to the murder of Padmesh occurred.

Ms Padmesh belonged to the famous royal family of Patiala. She was the daughter of leading sports personality, Raja Bhalinder Singh, who remained President of the Indian Olympic Association, the Indian Hockey Federation and many other sports bodies. Her brother, Randhir Singh, is at present the Secretary-General of the Indian Olympic Association

He said Mr Randhir Singh, a brother of the deceased who was away to London, had been informed about the incident. As he was not in a position to come, the body had been handed over to Mr Gurvir Singh, a close family friend, after a post-mortem examination.

Keeping in view the sensitiveness of the case the police did not take any chances. Media persons who reached the spot in the morning were not allowed to enter the circuit house building on the plea that forensic experts were collecting clues from the spot. Mr Thakur said the case would be thoroughly investigated to get to the root cause of the incident. He said Dhiren would be interrogated after securing police remand.

Randhir Singh, currently in London, is expected to arrive in Delhi on Sunday.

Amarinder Singh, who is in Srinagar attending the Congress Chief Ministers’ conclave, said he might leave for Delhi tomorrow to attend his cousin’s funeral. Talking to newspersons in Srinagar, Capt Amarinder Singh said he would seek the permission of the party president, Ms Sonia Gandhi, for leaving for Chandigarh before the conclusion of the two-day conclave tomorrow.