Head constable posted in Prayagraj allegedly returned with pistol after argument; victim died next day, accused also faced 2012 abetment-to-suicide case
Agra : A 38-year-old head constable allegedly shot a dhaba worker twice after the latter objected to him drinking with friends outside the eatery in Agra on Oct 9. The accused, Jackie Singh Chaudhary, a resident of Madhunagar in Agra’s Sadar Bazar area, joined the police force in 2011 and was serving in Prayagraj. Lavania sustained gunshot injuries and died during treatment on Oct 10. Police registered an FIR against Chaudhary the same day under sections 103(1) (murder) and 351(3) (criminal intimidation) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, following a complaint. A police team traced Chaudhary to Prayagraj and brought him to Agra on Oct 12. Police sources told TOI that Chaudhary had previously faced an abetment-to-suicide case following a woman’s death in Gujarat in 2012.
During questioning, Chaudhary allegedly told police that he had been in a relationship with the woman before she married another man and moved to Gujarat. The policeman allegedly went home to fetch his pistol following an argument, returned on a motorcycle and opened fire. The victim died during treatment the next day. The victim, Bittu Lavania, worked at a dhaba in Sadar locality. They reportedly remained in contact after he joined the police force. The woman subsequently died by suicide in Gujarat. Her family brought her body to Agra and lodged a complaint against Chaudhary at Sadar police station, leading to the registration of an abetment-to-suicide case.
Police arrested the accused, who was posted in Prayagraj, on Tuesday. Police formally arrested him on Tuesday and produced him before a court.