In a ghastly incident, a doctor was shot dead in broad daylight around 10.15 am on Wednesday while he was on duty at a community health centre at Jaspur in Kashipur under Udham Singh Nagar district by a two-wheeler-borne unidentified person. The criminal had shot a single bullet on his chest and escaped with his accomplice who was waiting on the bike outside the hospital campus, it is learnt.
The doctor was rushed to a hospital in Kashipur where he was declared brought dead. The deceased, SK Singh (40), a pediatrician, was a native of Gaya in Bihar. He was living in the hospital campus along with his family. The accused and his accomplice appeared of 25 years, police said.
The incident reflecting poorly on the law and order situation in the district has left the police red-faced. The incident right in the hospital premises scared the patients. They were found running wildly in a fit of panic.
It impacted the Government doctors and other staff of the medical facility too as they along with the locals staged a protest, demanding prompt arrest of the accused. Sources said that the motive behind the murder might be revenge. Police are probing the crime from all angles.
Kumaon Range DIG Pushkar Singh Sailal, Udham Singh Nagar SSP Anand Shankar Takwale, Additional SP Kamlesh Upadhyay, circle officer and police station officers rushed to the spot. The dog squad and forensic team collected evidence from the spot of the crime.
Acting on the complaint, a case under section 302 of the IPC was registered against unidentified person. Kamlesh Upadhyay said that several teams, including SOG, have been pressed into service to crack the case at the earliest.
Police said that two persons were involved in the murder. One was reported to be waiting on the bike outside the health centre while the other entered the OPD and shot him. This is what preliminary investigation has revealed.
The incident occurred when Singh was examining the patients at the State-run facility. The accused forced his entry into the OPD and fired a solitary shot at Singh.
The incident, coming after a broad daylight looting at gun-point in Rudrapur of Udham Singh Nagar district on April 12, has left the people insecure.
They say that they are aghast at the crime committed right in the OPD of a State-run health centre. "Police must prove their efficieny or we would lose confidence in the law-enforcing machinery.
These are dark blots on the face of police. Such a murder happened despite the Governor stressing on improving law and order and curbing crimes with a heavy hand," said one of the scared residents of Jaspur.