Punjab doctor held for murder attempt a year earlier

PANCHKULA - A Punjab-based doctor, wanted by the police for over year for attempted murder, has finally been arrested, police here said Saturday.

Sumit Sofat, who runs a leading infertility centre in Punjab’s industrial hub Ludhiana, was wanted since August 2009. His bail application had been rejected by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh.

“We had got a tip-off that Sofat was coming in a car to meet someone at a hotel in Sector 22 of Chandigarh, late Friday. So we laid a trap and arrested him. We will present him in court and seek maximum police remand,” Jangsher Singh, investigation officer of the case, told IANS.

Sofat has been brought by Haryana Police to Panchkula, some 10 km from Chandigarh. In July 2009, Sofat had accused a man, Ramesh Padhan, and his two sons — Vinayak and Abhinav — of attacking him and his driver Nelson near Morni Hills here.

“Sofat had registered a case of attempt to murder against Padhan and his two sons. In this attack, driver Nelson had sustained two bullet injuries in his chest. Sofat also accused Padhan of stealing Rs.33 lakh that was lying in his car at that time,” said Singh.

“But during investigation, we found that Sofat had lodged a false complaint and he had tried to implicate Padhan family because of some personal rivalry. In fact, he had himself fired at his driver and we booked him on a complaint by Padhan,” the officer said.

According to the police, Sofat has a criminal background and nearly 25 cases, including attempt to murder and rape, have been registered against him in Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand.