Shail Bala (in blue) with other officials | Photo Credit: ANI

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of the horrific incident in Kasauli which took place on Tuesday where a woman government official was shot dead allegedly by the owner of a guest house during a drive to raze down the illegal structures. Terming the incident as extremely serious, the SC has said that the matter will be placed before Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra.

A bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta further requested the CJI to list the matter for consideration on Thursday. Noting that Shailbala Sharma, the Assistant Town and Country Planner, had gone there to implement the apex court's orders, the SC said: “We might stop passing any order if you are going to kill people.”

The court also questioned as to what was the police team, which had accompanied government officials, doing when the woman was shot dead. The counsel representing Himachal Pradesh told the bench that the accused had fled from the crime scene after firing the rounds at the government officials.

Shailbala Sharma had on Tuesday gone to oversee a demolition drive mandated by the Supreme Court in Himachal Pradesh's Solan district. However, when the Public Works Department (PWD) employees began to pull down a structure within the Narayani Guest House near Dharampur area, its owner Vijay Singh fired three rounds at the officials.

A bullet hit Shailbala Sharma, killing her on the spot, while labourer Gulab Singh received injuries. The district administration officials were demolishing unauthorised structures in 13 hotels and resorts in Kasauli when the incident took place. The accused then fled the spot.

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On April 17, the Supreme Court had directed the Himachal Pradesh government to raze down illegal constructions in 13 hotels in Solan district's Kasauli and Dharampur areas. The government had then constituted four teams to oversee the drive which was necessitated after the SC noted that the unauthorised structures could put the life of the people in jeopardy.