Haryana: A resident of Bisru village in Mewat district, Arshad (26) was killed in an alleged encounter with the police on Thursday, February 21.
According to the official version of the Haryana Police, the police had gone to Bisru village to arrest Arshad and his associates. When the police apprehended them, they started firing. Arshad was allegedly killed in retaliatory firing by the police and Ekram (41), Mushtaq (30) and Mustaque (40) were injured.
Eyewitnesses Claim The Encounter Was Fake
Residents of Bisru village, who witnessed the killing, dispute the official version which states that Ashraf and his associates began firing and the police fired in retaliation. According to the eyewitnesses, no confrontation took place and the police killed Ashraf sans any provocation.
Sharfu, an eyewitness, explains the events of that day. “This happened around 9 am yesterday (February 16). Arshad, Ekram, Mushtaq, Mustaque, Azad (36) and Tillu (36) were sitting in the sun after bathing. Suddenly, the police arrived in their cars. Upon spotting the police, everyone (Arshad and his associates) got up and start to run but are caught. Three policemen grab Arshad and pin him to the ground and a fourth policeman shoots him.”
Sharfu adds, “They had sat down to have tea and the police raid occurred all of a sudden. They (Ashraf and his associates) didn’t have any weapons on them, how could they have fired (at the police)?”
Asmina, who was also present at the scene, says, “The policemen had pinned Ashraf face down on the ground. After the police shot him, they held him down for five-seven minutes more, till he stopped shaking.”
She adds, “I had told them (the police) to not kill him here… but the policeman asked me “is he your uncle?””
She also said that one policeman grabbed hold of Ekram’s neck, bend him over and another policeman shot him in the hip. One policeman shot Mustaque in the leg and Mushtaq was also shot in the same way, Asmina adds.
Rashmi, another eyewitness, says that the firing was done by the policemen only. When asked if she would be able to identify them, she says she is ready to give a statement anywhere.
The Official Version of The Haryana Police
Superintendent of Police, Nuh, Sangeeta Kalia told The Hindu that a police team conducted a raid on the outskirts of Bisru village following a tip-off that Ekram was hiding in the village with his gang. The police team had seven members from the Nuh police station accompanied by the reinforcement from Rewari.
“On seeing the police team, the accused opened fire. One of the bullets hit constable Pawan on the right hand and another on the chest. But he was protected by the bullet-proof jacket. The police retaliated and a bullet hit Arshad,” she told The Hindu.
Per the report in The Hindu, Arshad had several criminal cases registered against him in Haryana and in Rajasthan. He had been acquitted in two cases but his arrest was pending in five other cases. He carried a reward of Rs 25,000.
Ekram, wanted in an attempt to murder case, carried a reward of Rs 50,000. He had nine cases registered against him across five states.
Supreme Court Guidelines on Encounters and “State-Sponsored Terrorism”
In 2014, the SC had even issued detailed guidelines to be followed in encounter killings. These include — manner in which the site of the encounter needs to be recorded, informing about the death to the family of the deceased; not handing out gallantry awards until it has been established beyond doubt; and report of the encounter is to be investigated by the CID or the personnel of a different police station.
In the past few years, there has been a rise in the reports of encounter killings, particularly in Uttar Pradesh. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had even issued a notice to the U.P. government regarding the same, but there has been no further action.
In a landmark 2012 case, the Supreme Court had stated, “It is not the duty of the police officers to kill the accused merely because he is a dreaded criminal. Undoubtedly, the police have to arrest the accused and put them up for trial. This Court has repeatedly admonished trigger happy police personnel, who liquidate criminals and project the incident as an encounter. Such killings must be deprecated. They are not recognised as legal by our criminal justice administration system. They amount to State sponsored terrorism.”
Arshad’s brother, Hakam, says, “This is not an encounter…my brother was held and shot, this is a one-sided attack.”
(Mohd. Arif Tai is a human rights worker supported by a fellowship from the Karwan e Mohabbat.)
Also Read: Sohrabuddin Fake Encounter Case: Prajapati Told Co-inmate That He Would Be Killed