Eatery worker hacked to death opposite police control room in Shimla, killer on run

The accused Satinder Pal entered the victim's room on Mall road and attacked him with a sharp weapon. Manish rushed towards the police assistance room and broke the glass of the control room door with the same weapon with which he was attacked to get police's attention.

Shimla: A 21-year-old restaurant worker was killed early Monday morning in a brazen attack in the heart of Shimla right opposite a Police Reporting Room. The victim was identified as Manish, a resident of Kothi village in Kupvi tehsil of Shimla district.

According to police, the incident took place around 2 am when 30-year-old Satinder Pal entered Manish's room on the Mall road here and attacked him with a sharp weapon.

Manish rushed towards the police assistance room and broke the glass of the control room door with the same weapon with which he was attacked to get police's attention.

Police rushed Manish to the Indira Gandhi Medical College Hospital where he was declared 'brought dead.'

The killing also stirred a heated discussion in the state assembly, with the BJP-led opposition raising accusations at the treasury bench for poor law and order.

A case of murder under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against Satinder Pal, who is from Haryana, police said.

Satinder Pal, who worked in another restaurant, fled towards Chandigarh after the murder and a team has been sent to chase him down, police said.

BJP legislators raised the issue of murder in the Vidhan Sabha through a point of order.

Manish was brutally cut and murdered near a Police Reporting Room in state capital Shimla, which is also a major tourist destination, and the police were sleeping, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said.

He said while police are tapping phones and tracing locations of MLAs, the accused managed to slip from under their nose.

Congress MLA from Dharamshala Sudhir Sharma has received threats, a former Congress MLA from Bilaspur was attacked, and there is a serious law and order situation in the state, he said.

Parliamentary affairs Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan said that the government is aware of the incident and will take care of the matter.

He also said Sudhir Sharma is in the house and Jai Ram Thakur can't be his spokesperson.

Sharma, in his turn, said he had a discussion with the Chief Minister and the Director General of Police in connection with the threat call and the government is taking the matter seriously.

The BJP MLA from Chopal, Balbir Verma, said since the murder, people in 'large numbers' have arrived in Shimla from Kupvi and they are not allowing police the custody of his body till the murderer is arrested.

The accused went to Kasumpti, then the bus stand, and crossed the Himachal border and police are yet to catch him, he added.

Congress MLA from Shimla (Urban) Harsih Janartha informed the house that the culprit has been identified, the CCTV footage is with the police, and three teams have been sent to nab him.