Demolition row: Supreme Court raps Himachal Pradesh government after woman officer's murder

The apex courtlashed out at the state government for not providing adequate security to the woman official.

The court observed the seriousness of the case as the victim was shot dead inbroad daylight and the police were not able to arrest the accused andhe managed to flee the spot.

"We might stop passing any orders if you are going to kill people," the bench said. The bench also said that the matter will be placed before Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra for assigning it before an appropriate bench. It also questioned as to what the police team, which had accompanied government officials during the sealing drive was doing when the hotel owner allegedly shot at the woman, PTI reported.

The 51-year old lady assistant town and country planner Shailbala Sharma was shot dead while undertakingthe demolition drive of the recent orders of the Supreme Court.

Shailbala Sharmaalong with four teams of the Town and Country Planning Department were razing unauthorised construction in the area when the incident took place.

When Sharma and her team reached Narayani Guest House, its owner, Vijay Singh asked them to keep off his property. He allegedly opened fire on Sharma when her team went ahead with the demolition and tried to evacuate him.

On April 17, the court had ordered the hotel ownersto demolish unauthorised construction of several hotels and resorts in Himachal Pradesh within 15 days.

The court had also asked the owners to deposit a fine of up to Rs 15 lakh each.

The apex court's order came after it had observed that the illegal constructions had put the entire city in danger, causing landslides.