An alleged fake police encounter dating back to 1991 has come under fresh scrutiny, with an FIR registered against 12 retired policemen in Kanpur after a CB-CID inquiry found that the encounter was fabricated and evidence used against 12 arrested men was false.
An alleged fake police encounter dating back to 1991 has come under fresh scrutiny, with an FIR registered against 12 retired policemen in Kanpur after a CB-CID inquiry found that the encounter was fabricated and evidence used against 12 arrested men was false.
The FIR was registered at Maharajpur police station on Saturday, following a complaint by CB-CID inspector Sushil Kumar, nearly 35 years after the alleged incident. The retired policemen have been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for fabricating evidence, filing false charges, wrongful confinement and causing hurt.
The CB-CID inquiry named 18 policemen, including the then station house officer, Vidyasagar Tripathi, and investigating officer Ramesh Chandra Bhatole. Six of the officers named in the inquiry have since died.
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DCP (East) Satyajit Gupta confirmed the registration of the FIR, stating that the CB-CID would continue its investigation into the case.
According to the police's original account, a team confronted a group of men allegedly attempting to rob a DCM truck at Narval turn on August 23, 1991. The men were accused of blocking the road with tree branches to stop the vehicle. Police claimed to have recovered country-made pistols, cartridges and bombs from the suspects, following which 12 men were arrested and sent to jail.
However, Dev Prasad Pathak, a resident of Gandhigram in Chakeri, approached the government with allegations against Tripathi. Pathak claimed that the officer had demanded a plot of land free of cost. When the demand was allegedly rejected, Tripathi orchestrated the encounter to frame Pathak's younger brother, Rakesh, and his associates.
Statements recorded during the investigation further raised questions about the police version of events. Truck driver Umashankar and cleaner Brijendra Singh told investigators that they were transporting soap from Kanpur to Varanasi when a constable and others forcibly boarded their vehicle at Ramadevi Chauraha.
The two men said they were subsequently taken to the police station and forced to sign blank papers.
Despite these allegations, police had filed a chargesheet against the 12 men under IPC provisions relating to preparation for and assembly to commit dacoity and attempted murder. Charges were also invoked under the Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act.
The CB-CID inquiry has now found that the accused men were allegedly picked up from their homes while they were asleep. It also concluded that licensed firearms belonging to their family members were falsely presented as weapons recovered from the arrested men.
