M A I N   N E W S

u’khand fake encounter
17 cops get life term
Tribune News Service

Of the 17 cops, six were sub-inspectors — Santosh Kumar Jaiswal, Gopal Dutt Bhatt (SHO), Rajesh Bisht, Neeraj Kumar, Nitin Chauhan and Chander Mohan Singh Rawat. All of them and constable Ajit Singh were convicted for the conspiracy and murder. The 10 policemen found guilty only for conspiracy include constables Satbir Singh, Sunil Saini, Chander Pal, Saurabh Nautiyal, Nagender Rathi, Vikas Chander Baluni, Sanjay Rawat and Manoj Kumar and drivers Mohan Singh Rana and Inderbhan Singh.

The court also slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of the seven policemen and Rs 20,000 each on the remaining 10 and directed the authorities to handover the amount of Rs 5.5 lakh to the youth’s family. The family members, who were present in the court, expressed disappointment over the verdict and said they would move the Delhi High Court, seeking the death penalty for the accused.

The victim’s mother, who was in tears, wanted nothing less than the death penalty to all 17 policemen responsible for her son’s death.

The family members of some of the convicted policemen were also seen weeping. The court had rejected the convict’s contention that Ranbir was riding a motorcycle along with two others and snatched their revolver after being stopped at a checkpost on Mohini Road as part of a security drill for the visit of the then President Pratibha Patil. The victim’s friends are facing trial in a separate case of robbery in Uttarakhand. The Supreme Court had shifted the trial in the fake encounter case to Delhi on a plea by the victim’s family.