Police firing victim’s kin made constable

PATIALA: Brother of Neha Sharma, who was killed after being allegedly shot by a policeman near Samana in Patiala district on November 27, has been appointed as constable in Punjab Police. Patiala senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan handed over the appointment letter to Neha's brother Manish Sharma in Patiala on Friday.
Manish's mother Neelam Sharma was also present when he received the letter.Briefing the media, SSP Chauhan said the appointment was made on compassionate grounds following the approval by Punjab DGP Suresh Arora.
Both SSP Chauhan and DGP Arora remained inaccessible despite repeated attempts. According to an official release issued by the Patiala administration, the SSP said the appointment was been made following the requests of local residents who sought rehabilitation of the victim's family.
Neha, 24, who was the lead woman artist of a dance troupe, was killed and two others were injured when police had opened fire on their car in a case of mistaken identity close to the Punjab-Haryana border in Samana following the escape of six inmates of Nabha jail on November 27.
Police had spruced up security after 10-15 miscreants managed to get six inmates from Nabha jail, including terror outfit Khalistan Liberation Front (KLF) terrorist Harminder Singh Mintoo, freed.
Those present at the spot had handed over the cop, who allegedly fired at Neha and others, to the police. However, police had registered a murder case against unidentified persons.