Family and friends of Shashwat Pande, who was a doctor at St. Stephen’s Hospital here, held candlelight marches in the Capital and his home town Allahabad on Sunday, exactly a month after he was killed.
They demanded the immediate arrest of Dr. Pande’s colleague and prime suspect Suyash Gupta, who has been on the run since the murder.
Dr. Pande’s aunt Meenu Sharma, who was leading the march in the Capital, questioned the delay in the arrest.
Pamphlets distributed
“It has been one month now but the murderer is still at large. The Delhi Police have made repeated efforts, including announcing a reward, but all that has failed to produce any substantial leads on Dr. Gupta’s hideout,” said a statement by the organisers of the march.
The family also distributed pamphlets containing a chronology of events, including the harassment and stalking complaints made by Dr. Pande and how Dr. Gupta was once found reclining on a bed in the hospital premises with a stun gun in his hand during duty hours.
“Dr. Pande’s family is shattered and in deep shock. The culprit is still at large and is a threat to society. It would only be in the best interest of everyone that Dr. Gupta is arrested,” said the statement.
In Allahabad, a sizeable number of people, including Dr. Pande’s parents and maternal grandfather, gathered to protest against the alleged injustice. His father Sanjay Pande, also a doctor, questioned how the killer managed to stay on the hospital premises for half-an-hour after the murder and still managed to get away.
Dr. Pande was murdered on hospital premises on August 24. A senior police officer said the possibility of Dr. Gupta leaving India was bleak as a lookout circular was issued for him soon after the murder. He added that six teams, each led by an inspector, have been formed to probe the case.
“Nearly 500 people, including over 100 school and college friends of Dr. Gupta, have been questioned over the past month. However, the probe is struck due to lack of digital footprints as he has not been using a cell phone or Internet to contact his family or friends,” he said.
