Haridwar, Feb 27 (PTI) Police on Thursday removed the charge of attempt to murder against former BJP MLA Pranav Singh Champion who has been in jail for a month in the Roorkee firing case and replaced it with an attempt to culpable homicide, which was also accepted by the court.
Roorkee Police Circle Officer Pankaj Pant, who is investigating the case, filed a charge sheet against Champion in the court of Haridwar Chief Judicial Magistrate Avinash Kumar Srivastava, in which Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) which deals with attempt to murder, has been removed and replaced with Section 110 (culpable homicide), Champion's lawyer Praveen Tomar told reporters here.
There was a debate between the lawyers of both sides in the court regarding the change of the section, after hearing which the court considered it a case of Section 110 of the BNS.
After a change in the section imposed on Champion, the chances of his getting bail in the case have increased.
Tomar said he will file a bail petition for Champion on February 28.
Champion is currently admitted to Haridwar District Hospital due to ill health and appeared in the court sitting in a wheelchair.
Champion had fired several rounds on January 26 outside the office of his political rival and sitting independent MLA from Khanpur, Umesh Kumar, in Roorkee. He also threatened Kumar's supporters present there and abused them.
When journalist-turned-politician Kumar learned about the incident, he also reacted angrily. In a video that went viral, Kumar was also seen running threateningly with a pistol in his hand.
Both the leaders were arrested on the same day.
However, Kumar got bail from the court the next day while Champion was sent to judicial custody.
In the 2022 assembly elections, Kumar defeated Champion's wife Kunwarani Devyani Singh from Khanpur and since then there has been tension between the two.