Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], March 25 : A dramatic showdown unfolded in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur, with former Congress MLA Bumber Thakur making explosive allegations against BJP MLA Trilok Jamwal.
Thakur, who survived a shooting incident on Holi, claims Jamwal protected the drug mafia and orchestrated the assassination attempt against him.
Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur, a former Congress MLA who survived a shooting incident on Holi, was discharged from IGMC Hospital, Shimla, on Tuesday.
Upon his release, Thakur went straight to the Assembly premises and alleged that the attackers, who had been stationed in Bilaspur for over a month, were closely associated with Jamwal and had confessed to their crime.
Thakur said, "They want to kill me; the shooters who have been caught have confessed to their crime. Those who orchestrated this conspiracy against me are all closely associated with Trilok Jamwal. These people are drug traffickers. One of them has 43 cases against him, and another has 36 cases related solely to chitta (heroin) smuggling. These people fund Trilok Jamwal, and he enables their illicit trade."
Thakur further alleged that the attackers had been stationed in Bilaspur for over a month in a planned conspiracy against him.
"Two years ago, just before elections, my son was attacked from the same house where these conspirators were staying. Now, they tried to kill me. The police were informed within five minutes of the attack, but instead of sealing the area, they allowed the shooters to escape. If the Bilaspur borders had been sealed immediately, this incident could have been prevented," he claimed.
Demanding protection for himself and his family, Thakur urged the government to act decisively. "If the government does not take strict action, no one in this state will be safe. The law needs to be strengthened, and security needs to be increased," he said.
Thakur also revealed that the bullet lodged in his body could not be removed due to medical risks.
"Doctors have told me that I have to live with the bullet inside me. These people have crippled me so that I cannot move freely in public. A minute before the attack, I was perfectly fine, and within seconds, I became disabled," he alleged.
Thakur further accused Jamwal of being linked to criminals.
"The arrested shooter, Manjeet Nada, can be seen in photographs with BJP leaders, even feeding sweets to JP Nadda's son. These very people were part of the BJP's election campaign in the last Assembly polls. The same shooters who attacked me were the ones celebrating Jamwal's victory on their shoulders," he said, showing the media a set of photographs.
Jamwal, however, dismissed Thakur's allegations as baseless and countered with accusations of his own. He claimed that Thakur's son was involved in a previous shooting incident and had hired contract killers, introducing "contract killings" to Himachal Pradesh.
"This is an unfortunate incident, and I strongly condemn it. However, one must look at the sequence of events in Bilaspur," he said.
Jamwal pointed out that this was not the first shooting incident in Bilaspur. "On June 20 last year, there was another shooting, and before that, on February 23-24, a physical altercation occurred in the railway yard. These are not isolated incidents. Drug and mining mafias are flourishing in Bilaspur, and the real mastermind behind all of this is none other than former MLA Bumber Thakur," he alleged.
"Bumber Thakur's son was arrested under the Arms Act and IPC Section 307 (attempt to murder). The police filed a charge sheet against him in the High Court, stating that he was the mastermind of the previous shooting case. This is the first time in Himachal Pradesh's history that a political leader has allegedly hired contract killers. This is not my statement, it is documented in the police's status report filed in court."
Jamwal claimed that forensic evidence showed Thakur's son had communicated with a shooter 497 times. "After the shooting, the first call the shooter made was to them. This is a full-fledged gang war involving extortion and drug money," he said.
He further alleged that after the June 20 shooting, Thakur's son was hidden for 35-40 days in a government residence and later smuggled out of the state. "What compels the state government to protect criminals? The law and order situation is in complete disarray," he asserted.
The BJP MLA demanded a CBI inquiry into the matter, citing the state government's alleged failure to control law and order.
"This government has no control over law and order. That's why contract killers are escaping after committing crimes. We have seen multiple murders in recent times. If the government has nothing to hide, why not hand over the case to the CBI?" he raised questions demanding a CBI probe into it.
Rejecting Thakur's claims about his association with criminals, Jamwal said, "His government is in power. Why don't they investigate? I have no problem with any probe. But let me be clear, this is not a political conspiracy. It is a gang war for control over illegal businesses in Bilaspur," said Jamwal.
With both leaders making explosive claims against each other, the Bilaspur shooting case has become more than a law-and-order issue--it has turned into a major political scandal. While Bumber Thakur accuses BJP's Trilok Jamwal of orchestrating an assassination attempt, Jamwal paints Thakur as a criminal mastermind who introduced "contract killings" to Himachal Pradesh.