• Police wait for gangster’s family for inquest and to conduct post-mortem
• National Human Rights Commission to conduct parallel investigation

Mysore: The shoot-out incident where Sukhwinder Singh alias Durgesh from Faridkot in Punjab was shot dead by Vijayanagar Police Inspector B.G. Kumar near S.V. Apartments on Hebbal Ring Road yesterday morning will be probed by Crime Investigation Department (CID).

The investigation, at present being carried out by Vijayanagar Police, will be handed over to CID as the case has inter-State ramifications. Sukhwinder hails from Punjab and was operating a network of demonetised note collection and he along with his accomplices had come to Mysuru as part of the collection drive.

While the CID will henceforth probe the case, the Police are on a hot chase of Sukhwinder’s other two accomplices who are on the run. Sources told Star of Mysore that the ambit of CID was bigger and they can handle such cases and also ensure transparency in the investigation. A CID team has already left Bengaluru and is expected to reach Mysuru by this evening. The Vijayanagar Police have arranged for the team’s accommodation and logistics, sources said.

Family flying from Faridkot

Meanwhile, Sukhwinder’s body has been kept in the mortuary of Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMCR&I) and the Police are expecting the family members who are flying from Faridkot. The family is expected to reach at 4 pm and following an inquest and the family consent, post-mortem will be conducted after which the body will be handed over to the kin, Police said. As per procedure, family’s consent is mandatory before conducting the post-mortem.

Also, the post-mortem will reveal the number of bullets that has been fired. As of now, Sukhwinder’s body bears a bullet wound on the left side of his chest and the bullet must be lodged there. The Inspector had fired one round in the air and that bullet too has to be recovered by the CID team.

NHRC/SHRC probe: Tight security has been provided to the mortuary by the Mandi Police. Along with Sukhwinder’s family members, a team from Faridkot Police too is expected to reach Mysuru. As this is a case of Police shoot-out, the National Human Rights Commission along with State Human Rights Commission will launch a parallel probe to dispel any doubts that arises out of the incident.

Informer to be investigated

The Police are also looking into the antecedents of Vijaykumar from Bengaluru, the informer who was in constant touch with Vijayanagar Inspector Kumar and who tipped the Inspector about the presence of the gang in Mysuru. Based on the information given by Vijaykumar, the Cop took his team to the spot and surrounded the gang.

Police sources said that Inspector Kumar did not know Vijaykumar in person and had only received his SMS messages about the gang and its activities in Mysuru. Vijaykumar told the Police that he had supplied demonetised notes to Sukhwinder as the gang promised new legal tender but the gangsters had cheated him after accepting the banned notes.

He told the Police that he wanted the gang to be apprehended and he was closely following the gang members wherever they moved. In Mysuru, Vijaykumar had booked a room and has been staying here since three months tracing Sukhwinder and his activities. That is when he came to know that the gang was waiting to deal with some other Mysureans, he told the Police.

Loopholes in version

Police have their own doubts about Vijaykumar’s version of the story as there are several loopholes. Sources said that even Vijaykumar might be made an accused in the case and his antecedents, activities and history will be traced. What is surprising the Police is that Vijaykumar, leaving Bengaluru, stayed in Mysuru for three months closely following the gang.

Sources said that the gang had stay put in Mysuru since quite some time and their last stay was in a hotel on new Sayyaji Rao Road where they have been staying for over a week. They had entered into an agreement with several people from Mysuru to procure demonetised currency.