On October 3, 2017, Sumit Gujjar, 20, a resident of Chirchita village in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh, was shot dead in a ‘police encounter’, with the cops claiming him to be a dreaded criminal.
It was a case of mistaken identity. He was mistaken for Sumit Gujjar, a native of Sheeshram village who had six police cases registered against him. Realising their mistake, the police tried to cover up their dirty track and registered rape case against Sumit’s two brothers Raj Singh and Karan Singh.
The incident had hogged headlines at that time. Even the National Human Rights Commission had issued a notice to Uttar Pradesh government as well as Uttar Pradesh police to respond within four weeks. The response is still awaited.
The ghost of Sumit haunts Bharatiya Janata Party in this election. The trigger-happy police and alleged encounters have become a political issue. The dominant Gujjars of west Uttar Pradesh are now questioning the cold-blooded murder of Sumit. “He was innocent and was killed in an encounter because he shared a name with a criminal of that area. Sumit, who was shot dead, did not have any criminal cases against him,” Karan Singh, father of Sumit told this reporter.
Karan has now become the focus of UP government’s anti-encounter campaign. The Gujjars, who were at one time BJP supporters, are now gunning for BJP candidate. They have got an opportunity to settle the score with the ruling party and are utilising this opportunity to the hilt. Gujjars claim that Sumit was killed for cash reward and promotion.
“Sumit was picked up by the police on September 30, 2017 from Chirchita village in Baghpat. Police demanded a bribe of Rs 3.50 lakh. When he refused we were told that Sumit would be killed in an encounter. The police announced a reward of Rs 25,000 on Sumit and then increased it to Rs 50,000. We met the DIG but of no avail. We used contacts in Chief Minister’s office and even called the local BJP leaders for help. On October 3, SSP of Greater Noida, Luv Kumar, said that Sumit, who was wanted in several cases of robbery and extortion, was killed in an encounter,” said Karan Singh.
The Gujjar mahapanchayat is supporting Karan Singh’s cause. It said that their samaj was fighting this election for the ‘samman’ (honour) of Sumit.
Encounters have become a big political issue in western Uttar Pradesh with people questioning brutal killing of people – some of them innocent like Sumit and some having not heinous charges to deserve death. According to police figures, 62 criminals have been killed in police encounters between March 2017 and July 15, 2018 — roughly the period the Yogi Adityanath government has been in power. A significant proportion of those killed in these encounters are from four districts of western UP – Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Baghpat, the constituencies that will go to polls in the first phase on April 11.
The pattern of the encounters has been the same. The victims were young and under trial. Police intercepted them after receiving a tip-off. As soon as the police tried to stop them, the criminals start firing. In retaliatory fire, the accused receive bullet injuries and were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Vandana Misra, general secretary of People’s Union for Civil Liberties, says that since Yogi Adityanath has taken charge, the crime situation has worsened in Uttar Pradesh, atrocities against Dalits and Muslims have increased. This is a political issue and will boomerang on the BJP, she said.
Director General of Police OP Singh says that the law and order situation has improved as there has been a drastic fall in crime under categories like murder, rape and dacoity. Cases of dacoity have also come down by 37 per cent, loot by 19 per cent, murder by 1 per cent, burglary by 13 per cent, rioting by 7 per cent, kidnapping for ransom by 9 per cent and rape by 7 per cent, he points out.
The state police have arrested 5,677 criminals, including 2,068 offenders carrying rewards, during the period, he told reporters recently.