A jail inmate was shot dead after he allegedly attacked an asthmatic police constable with a sharp-edged weapon and attempted to escape custody outside a hospital in Hoshiarpur on Saturday, police said.
Senior Superintendent of Police Sandeep Kumar Malik said the incident occurred around 1.30 pm when four police personnel had brought three inmates from Central Jail, Hoshiarpur, to the Civil Hospital for a medical check-up.
After the examination, the police team was escorting the inmates back to the jail when one of them, identified as Nasib Singh, allegedly tried to flee despite being handcuffed, the SSP said.
According to the police, senior constable Jasdeep Singh, who suffers from asthma, was accompanying Nasib Singh in an e-rickshaw towards the ambulance when the inmate attempted to escape.
Jasdeep managed to catch hold of him, but Nasib Singh allegedly attacked the constable with a sharp-edged weapon, inflicting injuries on his face, hand and leg
"During the scuffle, he also tried to snatch the constable's service weapon," Malik told reporters at the hospital.
"In self-defence and to prevent his escape, the constable first fired a warning shot on the ground, but the accused did not stop and the scuffle continued. Both of them fell during the struggle, and the accused again tried to snatch the weapon. The constable then fired multiple rounds from his service revolver, some of which hit the inmate," Malik said.
The injured inmate was rushed to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries, police said. His body has been kept in the mortuary of the Civil Hospital.
The injured constable has been admitted to the hospital and is stated to be out of danger, officials said.
Police said the inmate was carrying a sharp-edged weapon and an investigation is underway to ascertain how he procured it.
"We will investigate from where he got the weapon, whether he picked it up outside the jail premises or if someone assisted him," Malik said.
According to preliminary investigations, Nasib Singh was facing multiple criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder and offences under the NDPS Act, and was also a convict, the SSP said.
Malik further said that the inmate's father, Shashi Kumar, is also lodged in jail in connection with cases of murder and offences under the NDPS Act.
Further investigation into the incident is underway, the police said
