Gurgaon: A judge’s wife, who was shot in a crowded market area in Gurgaon by his personal security guard, succumbed to her injuries, officials said on Sunday.
Additional Sessions Judge Krishan Kant’s wife Ritu, aged 45, and their son Dhruv, 18, had gone shopping in the Arcadia market on Saturday when they were shot at by the guard, Mahipal. They were admitted to a hospital in critical condition.
A regional medical officer at Gurgaon Civil Hospital, Pawan Choudhary, confirmed Ritu’s death and said the post-mortem examination had been conducted. Her son continues to be in critical condition, he added.
Police said the shooting happened around 3.30pm on Saturday. Ritu suffered a bullet injury in her chest, while Dhruv was injured in the head.
Mahipal was brought to a Gurgaon court at 1pm on Sunday, which sent him into a four-day police custody. Gurgaon police had sought a week’s custody for extensively interrogating Mahipal, to establish why he killed Ritu and shot at Dhruv. “Mahipal is frequently changing his statements and becomes furious whenever he is questioned. He said he was depressed on account of his personal and family problems,” said a senior police officer, who is part of the interrogation team.
After initial interrogation of the accused, the police said Mahipal was a Haryana police head constable, serving as judge Kant’s personal security guard for the past two years.
He had been asking for leave to go home for the past few days, but it had not been granted. This might have led him to become agitated, the police said. “The judge also scolded him often,” one of the interrogating officers said, adding “he had a grudge against the judge.”
On Saturday, the judge’s wife scolded him inside the car when they were going to the market, the officer said.
In video footage of the incident recorded by a witness, Mahipal is seen with a gun in his hand. He was also seen trying to push Dhruv inside the car, as the latter lay on the road after the shooting.
