Chamba murder case: Case lodged against 14 for burning house of accused

Amid a volatile situation after the Manohal Lal murder, the Chamba police in Himachal Pradesh booked over 14 people for burning down the house of the murder accused. As the police are intiating efforts to control the angry mob, the BJP demanded the handing over of the case to the NIA since the accused had 'links' with terrorists.

Chamba (Himachal Pradesh) : In the aftermath of the Manohar Lal murder case, the police have registered a case against 14 people for burning down the house of the murder accused. As the protesters have been creating law and order situations, the Chamba police are initiating stringent measures to control the mob.

The situation remained volatile ever since June 9, when Manohar Lal's dead body was found chopped to pieces. It was widely reported that there was a love angle with a Muslim girl that led to the murder. But the BJP leaders demanded the handing over of the case to the NIA since the murder accused had 'links' with terrorists and they had also exchanged Rs 95 lakhs worth of notes during demonetisation.

After the murder, various organizations held protest demonstrations. First, they gheraoed the Kihar police station. After that, the uncontrollable mob marched ahead towards Sangni and set the house of the accused on fire. Due to this much of the evidence relating to the murder also got burnt in this fire.

The angry mob set fire to two houses of the accused. They made two houses of the accused victims out of their anger and burnt both houses. In this whole incident, so far 11 people have been called for questioning by the police. Out of which, five people have been arrested. Their interrogation is going on currently.

The investigation is taken up from every angle in the Manohar murder case. The SIT (special investigation team) police are investigating the Manohar murder case in full depth.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Chamba SP Abhishek Yadav himself has been following up on the murder case and subsequent events in the Saloni area for over three days. Also, the SP initiated efforts to prevent the crowd from becoming uncontrollable. Steps were taken to ensure that no untoward incident could happen.