Auto Driver Shot Arjuna Awardee Punjab Cop, An Ex-Weightlifter, After Fight Over Dropping Home

An autorickshaw driver has been arrested for fatally shooting Punjab Police Deputy Superintendent Dalbir Singh Deol after a heated argument in Jalandhar.

Outlook Web Desk

Updated on: 4 January 2024 4:25 pm

An autorickshaw driver is arrested for fatally shooting Punjab Police Deputy Superintendent Dalbir Singh Deol in Jalandhar following a heated argument.

A breakthrough has been made in the case of the death of Punjab police officer Dalbir Singh Deol, who was found dead in Jalandhar. The police have arrested the key accused, an autorickshaw driver named Vijay Kumar. Deol, a former weightlifter and Arjuna awardee, was shot in the head by Kumar after a disagreement.

The argument between the accused, a drug addict, and the police officer escalated when?Deol requested the driver to drop him to his village. Vijay Kumar, in possession of Deol's service pistol, shot him during the altercation. Deol's body was discovered with injury marks on a road in Basti Bawa Khel in Jalandhar, where he was stationed.

Jalandhar Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma provided details of the incident, stating, "The driver refused to drop the police officer to his village which led to a scuffle. Amid the argument, Vijay snatched the service pistol from Deol and fired on his head, leading to his death."

Initially considered a hit-and-run case, the arrest was made based on CCTV footage. The body of Dalbir Singh Deol, a Deputy Superintendent of Police and Arjuna awardee in 2000, was discovered near the Basti Bawa Khel canal, about 6-7 kilometers from Jalandhar.

Contrary to the initial assumptions, investigations revealed that Deol had been grappling with depression for the past three to four months, as mentioned by Arvinder Singh Virk, the Deputy Commissioner of Police.