File- Hotel owner and his mother arguing with assistant town planner Shail Bala during demolition drive.

NEW DELHI/SHIMLA: Accused Vijay Singh , who had been evading the law after the murder of assistant town and country planner Shail Bala during a demolition drive on Tuesday in Kasauli 's Mando Matkanda area, was arrested from UP's Mathura district by a team of Delhi and Himachal cops on Thursday.

"A team led by inspector Ritesh Kumar tracked him down to Vrindavan. The information was shared with our counterparts in Himachal Pradesh and a joint team found him near the Banke Bihari temple (in Vrindavan)," said Delhi police DCP (crime) Rajesh Deo.

The hotelier had allegedly shot Shail Bala after he and his mother, Narayani Devi, had argued with the officer over the demolition of unauthorised constructions at their Narayani Guest House on the directions of the Supreme Court.

Vijay Singh had escaped to a nearby forest after allegedly firing three rounds, leaving the assistant town planner dead and another officer seriously injured. He hired a taxi to travel to Mathura after fleeing from Kasauli and intended to escape to Nepal. During initial questioning, Singh claimed he had planned to kill the assistant town planner since she had refused to accept his bribe offer.

