SURAT, May 4: This is the second time in less than three months that policemen attached to the city have opened unprovoked fire while on duty. In both cases, service weapons were used to commit offences.On February 16, constable Sanjay Badgujar gunned down two persons -- murder accused Mahesh Desai and his advocate Harish Chaudhary -- in the district and sessions court. While personal rivalry was stated to have been the cause for the act, the police attribute Tuesday's incident to Jetsinh Parmar's ``loss of mental balance''.
When police officials were asked why they had continued with Parmar when he had been suspended twice and was known to be whimsical and temperamental, DCP D M Naik said, ``No one ever knew he would do such a thing.''
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.