Click to play videoGhaziabad: The Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case has opened a Pandora’s box and a debate on extra-judicial killings in the country.
But while the role of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan police are under the scanner, there is little talk about fake encounters in Uttar Pradesh, a state that tops the list.
Bhagwati Devi has been numbed by grief after her son Badal was picked up by the UP Police in May last year and after days of torture, killed in a fake encounter in Ghaziabad.
The ordeal, however, had just started. Now the family and the eyewitness in the case are being constantly threatened.
"I don't want to say anything. The case will be decided by our fate," a dejected Bhagwati Devi says.
Bhagwati Devi still shudders when she recalls her attempts to get justice for her dead son. Mercifully, her cries did not go in vain and a CB-CID inquiry was ordered in the case.
"The CID after conducting its enquiry has registered a case against 20 policemen the Sahibabad police station. Now they will be carrying on the investigation and taking further action," says Senior Superintendent of Police Deepak Ratan.
But the accused Inspector Rajesh Chaudhary and 19 other policemen presently enjoying plum postings in various thanas (police stations) of UP do not seem to be fearing arrests.
And this is despite stringent legal provisions against such acts.
"If at all there are incidents where people are indulging in fake encounters we will take actions against them. We will take legal against just like other criminals. These are criminal acts and they will be treated accordingly," Deepak Ratan adds.
But the laws are not perhaps for the trigger-happy men in khaki, especially in UP which tops the list in fake encounters.
The state registered as many as 68 fake encounters in 2003-2004 and 54 in 2004-2005.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, Andhra Pradesh stood second with 14 encounters during the same period.
The question is not that tricky to evade an answer. Yet most of the officials in UP evade answering why their state has gained the dubious distinction of having the highest number of fake encounters in the country.
The reason is not far to seek as at times they are done to settle personal vendetta or for money or for quick promotions.
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