Jaipur: In an act of violence over a failed relationship, a 40-year-old labour inspector was fatally shot by a police constable outside his residence in Bagru town near Jaipur early Tuesday morning.The victim, Shankar Lal Balai, was on his morning walk in Vatika Infotech City township when he was ambushed allegedly by Ajay Katariya, 32, a constable with the 12th Battalion of Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC). Katariya, who was posted in Delhi, used his service self-loading rifle (SLR) to carry out the attack, police said.Balai, who had moved to Vatika City in 2018, is survived by his wife and two children. His elder brother serves in the CRPF. The victim was a native of Bokdawas near Phagi in Jaipur district and worked at a state govt office in Sodala, Jaipur city. Katariya blamed Balai for his broken engagement with the latter’s cousin, a woman constable. Following the shooting, Katariya hijacked a cab and drove 45km to Phulera police station, where he surrendered with his weapon. He was taken into custody without resistance.According to witnesses, the incident occurred around 6.30am when Katariya, who was hiding behind a tree, opened fire as Balai left his villa. Residents reported hearing multiple gunshots and screams as the assailant chased the victim within a 20-metre radius, firing approximately 10 rounds. Balai sustained fatal injuries to his neck, chest and abdomen before collapsing near his residence gate. DCP (West) Hanuman Prasad Meena said that the motive behind the murder was Katariya’s failed engagement with Balai’s cousin, a woman constable in the Jaipur Police. “The woman constable told us Balai was like a guardian after her father abandoned her. She broke off the engagement in Oct 2024 after realising Katariya’s ‘true nature’,” Meena said. While Katariya accused the woman of infidelity and blamed Balai for interfering in the relationship, police have dismissed these claims, citing the woman’s accounts of harassment following the breakup. But the victim’s family pointed to a wider conspiracy. Balai’s father Sukha Ram and uncle Mohan Lal alleged that Pooran Mal, father of the woman constable, may have instigated Katariya. “After Pooran abandoned his children, it was my son who helped them financially,” Sukha Ram told TOI. “Pooran and Katariya had both been threatening him.” Sawnwar Mal, another relative, also claimed that Balai had been receiving threats from both Pooran and Katariya for a long time. “We even heard of a conspiracy — someone, acting at Pooran’s behest, had agreed to harm Balai for a large sum of money,” said another relative, claiming that police were aware of the dispute between Balai and Pooran. The family staged a protest outside Bagru Community Health Centre in the evening, demanding that Pooran and three others be booked for conspiracy and abetment to murder. The police assured them that all the accused, if found guilty, will be arrested. After the assurance the family agreed for the post-mortem.
Labour inspector shotdead by cop over failedengagement in Bagru | Jaipur News
