Giving up his escapade, Shiv lal Doda, the prime accused in the infamous Abohar farmhouse murder case, surrendered before SSP Fazilka Inder Mohan Singh Bhatti on Friday. Taken him in custody, Doda is learnt to have been handed over to CIA staff for interrogation.
Doda is likely to be produced in court on Saturday. He is the owner of the farm house, situated in Ramsara village near Abohar, where a dalit man Bheem Taank, age 27, was allegedly chopped off to death on December 11, last year. Both the hands and legs of the victim were chopped off. Gurjant Singh, the man who accompanied Bheem to the farmhouse, was also beaten and had suffered injuries in the incident. Doda, a liquor baron had contested the 2012 Assembly elections from Abohar. He was later made SAD In-charge of the constituency. Police had booked Doda in this case under allegations of murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy etc.
He had been on the run since police started nabbing people in the case. With the arrest of Doda, the total number of persons arrested in this case has gone up to 23. Doda’s nephew Amit Doda, who is also an accused in the case, had surrendered before the police last month.
Having failed to get anticipatory bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Doda was hardly left with more options than to surrender. He had earlier approached Fazilka court for anticipatory bail claiming to have been falsely implicated in the case.
The Akali Dal has consistently maintained that Doda was not a member of the party.