The Muslim woman from Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh, who was shot in her head by a police officer in ‘accidental firing’, died at an Aligarh hospital late Wednesday night.
Ishrat Jahan, 55, was reportedly an Umrah aspirant and had gone to the police station for her passport verification.
She was critical till her last breath and was on life support at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, reported Maktoob Media.
The police sub-inspector, Manoj Sharma, who ‘accidentally fired’ his service pistol, was suspended with immediate effect, and a case has been booked against him. Sharma is still absconding.
The incident took place on December 8 around 2:50 pm when Ishrat Jahan visited the Kotwali police station with her son for passport verification.
After a while, a police official came and handed a pistol to Sub-Inspector Sharma. Sharma then discharges his firearm at point-blank range, hitting the woman in her head and causing her to collapse to the ground.
The entire episode was captured on the police station’s CCTV cameras, providing a clear account of the incident.
The injured woman was rushed to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and was receiving treatment there. She succumbed to her injuries on Thursday.
As news of Ishrat Jahan’s death spread, leaders from the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress as well as the students of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) reached the medical college. Security has been beefed up at the hospital and the Kotwali police station.
After the incident, Ishrat’s son Ishan, lodged an FIR at Kotwali police station, alleging that constable Sudip demanded a hefty sum from his mother for verification and when they reached there, they were asked to come after an hour, reports the Indian Express.
“But we decided to wait at the police station, and within seconds, the police bullet hit my mother. The policemen fled and we rushed her to the medical college where she succumbed to her injuries,” he said, reports Indian Express.