A local court in Ghaziabad has convicted nine policemen, including a retired SO, in a 16-year-old fake encounter case of 2006, wherein a carpenter was killed in Etah district of Uttar Pradesh.
Special CBI Judge at Ghaziabad Parvendra Kumar Sharma on Tuesday convicted the accused on charges of murder and destruction of evidence.
According to CBI Special Public Prosecutor Anurag Modi, the convicts included then Sidhpura SO Pawan Singh, then sub-inspector Shripal Thenua and constables- Sarnam Singh, Rajendra Prasad and Mohkam Singh.
While these five police officials were acquitted of kidnapping charges, four constables- Baldev Prasad, Awadhesh Rawat, Ajay Kumar and Sumer Singh were held guilty of destroying evidence.
The then sub-inspector Ajant Singh, who was also an accused, died during the pendency of the case. His file was closed.
The court further cancelled the bail of all accused and ordered them to be sent to jail.
The CBI Public Prosecutor told the court that one Rajaram, resident of Sunehra village under Sidhpura police station area of Etah, used to work as a carpenter. On August 18, 2006, police killed him in a fake encounter in Sidhpura police station area, after calling him a dacoit.
Among the nine police personnel, the then SO Pawan Singh has retired, while the rest are posted in different districts of Uttar Pradesh. The case was transferred to CBI on orders of the Allahabad High Court.
Widow Santosh Kumari had knocked on the doors of both local police and administration seeking inquiry into the death of her husband, however, her complaints fell on deaf ears. She then moved the Allahabad High Court demanding CBI inquiry into the fake encounter.
There was not a single case registered against Rajaram. On this basis, on June 1, 2007, The High Court ordered the transfer of case to CBI on the grounds that not a single case was registered against Rajaram.
On June 1, 2007, on orders of the High Court, CBI registered an FIR and started investigation. CBI filed its charge sheet on December 22, 2009, after conducting probe for more than two years.
The charge sheet named all 10 policemen as accused on charges of kidnapping, murder and destruction of evidence.