SHIMLA: In Himachal Pradesh’s Kasauli a guesthouse owner shot an assistant PWD town planner dead on Tuesday after she was executing a Supreme Court judgment ordering demolition of illegal constructions in the hilly state.

When a team of the public works department (PWD) began pulling down a part of Narayani Guest House at Mando Matkanda then its owner Vijay Singh who is 51 year old fired three rounds, leaving assistant town planner Shail Bala dead and while another officer seriously injured.

Guest House owner Singh disappeared into the nearby forest after the incident.

Solan police have declared a reward of Rs 1 lakh for anyone who will give information leading to his arrest.

Trouble started as soon as Shail Bala and other officials reached Mando Matkanda near Dharampur to demolish unauthorized portions of the guesthouse. Singh and his mother, 70  year old mother Narayani Devi started opposing the officials and argued with Shail Bala.

When the team did not listen to the mother-son, Guest owner Singh fired at them. As Shail Bala was murdered, a PWD employee, Gulab Singh was injured.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur asserted that the accused would be arrested soon.

The Supreme Court had issued order to the Himachal Pradesh government on April 17 to demolish unauthorized structures of a number of hotels in Kasauli, refusing the appeal of hoteliers against an National Green Tribunal order.

The NGT in its order on May 30 last year, had noticed that the owner of Narayani Guest House had constructed a six-storey building while he had authorization for only three storeys and a parking floor.