A day after a Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) land records officer was shot dead during land possession survey in Manesar, the Gurugram Police on Wednesday said the three accused had been identified.
Though no arrests have been made, Gurugram Police spokesperson Subhash Boken said four to five teams have been constituted to arrest the accused.
Driver injured
The deceased has been identified as 52-year-old patwari Ishwar Singh. His driver Vijender sustained injuries in Tuesday’s incident and is in the hospital.
Mr. Boken said several suspects from Manesar and its neighbouring villages had been detained for questioning in connection with the attack and their interrogation helped the police identify the accused.
The land in question is under the Central Bureau of Investigation scanner over allegations of huge losses to farmers due to irregularities. Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is an accused in the case.
The Supreme Court had recently directed the HSIIDC to take possession of the land, mostly owned by builders. Some portion of the land is also owned by the HSIIDC but farmers have been cultivating there illegally. The corporation has already taken “deemed” possession of around 340 acres. A survey was being conducted for around 70 acres of land for the past two days.
Meanwhile, Ishwar’s body was handed over to his family at noon after the post-mortem. A contractual worker with the HSIIDC since the past decade, Ishwar is survived by his wife and three sons. He belonged to Shahpur village in Hisar.
Claiming that Ishwar was the sole breadwinner, his brother Mangat Ram demanded financial assistance and a government job to the next of kin.
Horticulture supervisor Ram Singh said the HSIIDC staff involved in the survey was resting under a tree and the two victims were inside a vehicle parked within a stone’s throw from the others when the attack happened. The three assailants came on a motorcycle and inquired whether any officer was present at the spot.
“When the staff told them that an officer was inside the vehicle, the trio went to car and shot him at point-blank range. The driver tried to flee but was caught and forced to sit inside the vehicle. He too was shot at but the bullet hit his arm,” the supervisor said.
He maintained there were no protests or threats by farmers against the ongoing survey.
HSIIDC Managing Director T.L. Satyaprakash told The Hindu that the team had gone to survey the land for “deemed possession” and the police were not required for the exercise. Calling the incident “unfortunate”, he said the department was cooperating with the police in the investigation. Mr. Satyaprakash added Ishwar’s family was entitled to a compensation of ₹3 lakh as per the Chief Secretary’s notification.
